Simple Beauty
by Princess Melon
Summary: Who says beauty is only skin deep? Who says love can only be chosen by the parents? Shirochii Kuromashii comes from a wealthy family but chooses not to live that way like her siblings. When she goes back to Ouran, her dull life turns dramatic. REWRITING
1. Colorful

Simple Beauty

Chapter 1: Colorful

Hello, my name is Kuroki Konya, and this is the story of Shirochii Momoiro Kuromashii, a wonderfully dull girl with an exquisite name. Shirochii has three older siblings: Daidaiiro Chairo Kuromashii, Mizuiro Murasaki Kuromashii, and Midori Iro Minu. They're in order from youngest to oldest.

Shirochii, being the youngest, had to earn her fame or else she was looked down upon and sympathized. She hated being sympathized. She also hates routines, being ridiculed, and being taken for granted. Yep, she's a single minded keeper of the house. Her family is usually out on business trips, business meetings, parties, dinner parties, weddings, etcetera, etcetera. On a plain note, she hates her position in her family and wishes she'd grow up. Since there's a "16 and up" rule in the family to attend the extra activities. Stupid, I know.

She'd gained the hatred of routines and monotonous extracurricular activities from her life always being the same. She'd lived the same extravagant life in Japan. An upsetting, alternating-at-first move to Canada when her family became bankrupt—which became boring fast since she'd learned perfect English and the ways of the Canadians. Then another upsetting move back to Japan when her family gained their past riches in Canadian dollars, worth more than Yen.

Shirochii and her elder siblings—minus Midori, since she'd gotten married to another Japanese man in Canada and chose to stay there, that and she's too old—enrolled back into Ouran High School, with their boring attire and snotty attitudes. Her siblings loved it when they had gotten back to Ouran, since they loved that kind of life. But Shirochii, on the other hand, didn't not like it but she didn't approve of being there.

Her monotonous life had ended and her new, adventurous, more exciting life had started on the second day of school when she over heard a conversation between classmates.

The bell signaling break rang and Shirochii packed up her Math books in her desk. It was then when she overheard a few of her classmates have an interesting conversation, Chy Masako and Tsukiyo Tama.

"Ne, Tsukiyo-san, are you going to _Host Club_ today?" Chy asked.

"Ie, Chy-san. Gomen, demo… I have a meeting to go to today with my Otou-san and Onii-san," Tsukiyo replied.

The name _Host Club_ had caught her attention at once. The word _host_ often meant someone offering their home to someone, but it could also be used to mean _crowd_, or any group of people. So the thought of having a _Host Club_ certainly made her wonder.

She turned around to face the two females chattering away about this _Host Club_ and the meeting Tsukiyo would have to attend later on that evening. "Ne, Masako-san, Tama-san, may I ask you something?"

The two girls stopped talking and stared at Shirochii like she had three heads. "Uh, sure, Kuromashii-san," Chy said.

"What is this _Host Club_?"

The two girls laughed. Loudly.

"You don't know of the _Host Club_?!" Tsukiyo shouted, appalled.

"Well, I've only been here for a day since Elementary School, Tama-san. And back then there _was_ no 'Host Club,'" Shirochii said confidently.

"You still should have heard of it on your first day. What clubs do you know of so far?" Tsukiyo asked. Chy nudged her in the side, making her wince.

Shirochii noticed this gesture, but started anyway. "The Dark Magic Club, Badminton Club, Tennis Club, and the Newspaper Club—if you can actually call it a 'club.'"

"Well, the Host Club is a club with handsome boys that 'host' girls. Their motivation behind it is to make all girls happy." The three girls turn around to see Todai Minu, the younger sister of Midori's husband. This made Todai Shirochii's sister-in-law.

Shirochii smiled. The only friend she had in the whole of Japan was Todai, and Todai's only friend was Shirochii. Chy and Tsukiyo turned away and walked back to their seats as the Science teacher came into the classroom to set up his work. Todai came into the room and sat next to Shirochii.

"'Host' the girls?" Shirochii asked.

Todai nodded. "Yes. The 'Hosts'—members of the club—sit with the girls and talk with them, entertain them, flirt with them, etcetera. You know, the works. But the catch is that the girls _pay_ for it. They've recently acquired a new member, Haruhi Fujioka, earlier this year." Shirochii had nodded her head along with the details Todai had explained.

The bell for break to end rang and the two girls sighed. Todai was a year older than Shirochii, Second Year, Class A—the same as Daidaiiro.

"Well, I'll see you later, then? Maybe I can take you to the Host Club afterschool, or at lunch even! Alright? How's that sound, Momo-chan?"

Shirochii's smiled wavered. "That'll be… alright. I guess.."

"Great, then! See you later, Momo!" Todai stood up in a rush and left the classroom to hers.

xxx

It was lunch and Shirochii waited for Todai at the cafeteria doors. It took her only a few minuets to walk from her class, grab Shirochii's wrist, and drag her to the Third Floor Music Room. Once they both stood in front of it Todai let go of Shirochii and dusted her hands as if she had just finished cleaning something—which she had never done in her life.

"Todai-san, this is a Music room. How did you know I played the violin?"

Todai looked at Shirochii curiously. "I never did, but now I do." Shirochii gave a nervous laugh while Todai smiled brightly and opened the grand doors. A warm burst of air and rose petals swirled and floated at them. Shirochii inhaled and exhaled.

There were seven boys crowded around a chair, one of them in the extravagant carved chair.

"Welcome," a blonde boy started, "to the Host Club!"

Shirochii's eyes brightened up at once as she found familiarity in the blonde, as we know him as Tamaki Suoh.

Todai noticed her gawking and raised an eyebrow. She then whispered, "Like him? A lot of girls do."

Shirochii snapped out of her reverie and shook her head for clearing. She then looked at Tamaki again. "Leo?" she wanted to say, but held her self as she looked at the blonde's eyes, they were purple, not green. Then it clicked in her head.

Tamaki swept his way over to the dazed girl and held her hands close to him as he whispered, "A new hime? Do grace me with your glorious name." He then kissed her hand like a gentleman.

Shirochii froze and looked around the room, as if looking for someone. But the room was slowly filling up with other females and the other boys were wandering off to take seats with the girls.

"Ne, Tamaki-sempai, where is Leo-kun?"


	2. Wondrous

Simple Beauty

Chapter 2: Wondrous

"Tamaki? Hello? You there?" Shirochii said in French.

Tamaki looked at Shirochii in the eyes with pure shock. "_L-Leo_-**k****-****kun**?!" he stuttered in Japanese.

"Hai, Tamaki-sempai. Leo-kun." He dropped her hand and seemed to want to fall onto his bottom but composed himself before he was able to even slant over.

"L-Leo is in France right now, like he's always been. But he came here on an exchange not too long ago, just before winter b-break."

"Tamaki, why are you so jittery? We haven't seen each other for _ages_! How have you been?"

"I've been doing well, Momoiro."

"That's good. When do you think Leo would come back for a visit?"

"In a month or so. February 10th, he had told me."

"Wah! So long?!"

Tamaki nodded sadly. "Hai," he said, reverting back to Japanese. "We really should be talking in Japanese again, since others do not know what we're talking about."

The two had wandered off to the side, as if they were in their own little world of know.

"Ah! Hai! I'd forgotten, for a moment there," Shirochii said with slight embarrassment. "How was he the last time you two saw each other?"

"He was doing well. He came here with two other exchange students, Wan Ron-san and Yoshitsuna-san."

"Oh! I know Wan Ron-san! I heard he has a cousin here? Nekozawa Umehito?"

Before Tamaki could reply to her question, the bell to end lunch rang. Shirochii sighed. "I'll talk to you later, maybe?"

Tamaki nodded. "Hai. Later. Maybe." Shirochii nodded, too, and walked to the door, almost tripping on her way out.

She was about to join Todai—who had a smirk on her face—at the door when two boys swept up on either end of her and turned her around and set her down in a chair.

"How do you know Tono?" the two boys asked simultaneously.

Shirochii shook her head once to clear her thoughts what had been windblown. "Eh… I don't know who you're talking about…" But then it came to her that it was Tamaki. " I know him from… before. When I was nine." The two auburn headed boys nodded at the same time.

"Please excuse me, I must get to class before I'm late. I recommend you two do the same." She hadn't even looked at their faces during their "conversation," and she didn't care who they were in the first place. If they knew Tamaki, there were bound to be dimwits.

"Sayonara, Momoiro-hime!" Shirochii stopped heading for the door, frozen by being called that name. But, after shuddering once, continued on her way to class.

When she entered the classroom girls were glaring at her as if she was the devil's daughter. She felt most—if not, all—female eyes on her. It was a horrible feeling. It seemed like there was always at least one set of eyes set on her, every move of hers was watched by someone and sent out to all other girls through this Girl Network that Shirochii had no idea existed or how it worked.

By the end of the day she felt like she had done something horrible and was about to go home with her siblings, when she remembered that she was going to see Tamaki back at that music room. She wound her way around the school searching for it, finally finding it fifteen minuets later. She had contacted her sister Mizuiro to tell her parents and brother that she'd be late today and she'd call to get picked up when she was ready.

She knocked lightly and waited for a reply. "Sumimazen, Host Club is not open yet!" a voice called from the inside.

"It's Momoiro!" one of the doors opened up immediately and dragged her inside. The rough arms had dragged her through the doors and over to a sofa where another boy sat. The one who had grabbed her and dragged her inside sat on her right side.

"Momoiro! Glad to see you again! Daijobu desu ka?" one of the boys asked.

Shirochii looked around the room to see a young blonde boy with a tall black-haired boy, a six-foot-tall youth with glasses and black hair, and a feminine young man with brown hair and hazel eyes. The two on either side of her, the auburn haired boys, smiled—no, smirked—with evil joy.

"Where's Tamaki-kun?" Shirochii wondered, standing up, only to be pulled down by the two boys.

"No matter for that. What connection do you have with Tono?" the one on her left asked.

Anger flared in Shirochii. She _hated_ to be controlled. "Let go. And set me free," she said through clenched teeth.

"Aww! Is Canada-ku going to cry?" Kaoru teased from her right side.

Shirochii closed her eyes and balled her fists. Why wasn't anyone helping her here?

"Stop it, you two. Can't you see that she doesn't like it?" Shirochii opened her eyes to see the feminine young man standing behind the coffee table in front of them.

Kaoru and Hikaru let go and slumped on the armrests of the sofa, their lips pouting.

The young man smiled and introduced himself. "Boku wa Fujioka Haruhi desu. You?"

"Her name is Kuromashii Shirochii. Middle name Momoiro, meaning pink." Haruhi and Shirochii looked up to see Kyoya Ootori standing near the doors. He took her glare as a signal to stop, so he continued. "First year, class B. Blood type B. Two older sisters—Mizuiro and Midori—and one older brother, Daidaiiro. Every member of her family has a color somewhere in their name. Even her sister's husband's middle name is Iro; color."

Shirochii crossed her arms across her chest and looked out towards the window. Kyoya smiled smugly. "That's all I'll say for now," he said and continued to type away at his laptop.

"Kuromashii-san?" Haruhi wondered. "Momoiro…-chan?"

"Hai.. You can just call me Momoiro-san. Most people do."

"To call you 'pink' is a shame to your personality, Momo-chan," Tamaki said as he stepped through the doors.

Shirochii laughed. "Chii-chan? Kuro-chan? Shiro-chan. Shii-chan? There are just too many names and aliases to choose from, Tamaki-sempai."

Tamaki laughed. "I contacted Leo," he said in French.

Shirochii's eyes sharpened. "And? What did you and Leo talk about?"

"I told him that you were here. He was ecstatic about it and decided to come by the first of February."

She smiled and started dancing around Tamaki. "Yippee! Leo's coming! Leo's coming!"

Tamaki laughed. "You know today's only January ninth."

She stopped laughing and dancing. In fact, her whole happy mood had left. "Damn," she said in Japanese.

"What are you two talking about?! Stop speaking French!" Hikaru shouted, angry that he couldn't understand what the two were talking about.

"Don't worry, twin 1, we weren't talking about you," Shirochii said and laughed.

Hikaru muttered something under his breath and said, "Canada-ku." Again, Shirochii's happy mood left. She balled her hands into fists as tightly as she could.

"I'm not Canada-ku! Stop calling me that!" She turned and stomped angrily to the doors.

"Matte! Matte yo, Momo-chan!" Tamaki called.

"Ie, Tamaki-sempai! I won't stand those twins' vile demeanor or controlling personalities. I quit whatever I was starting by meeting you here at Host Club." She opened the doors and wove her way through the crowds of girls, ignoring the glares from them. The girls were obviously jealous. She hates jealousy.

She wondered down the hall for a little bit then leaned against a wall—at least, that's what it seemed like. She couldn't think properly with Leo, Tamaki, and the twins in her head. She fell through a door, giant doors that were dark and seemingly possessive.

"Itai!"

"Ah! Who is this?" a dark voice wondered. Shirochii sat up from the floor and rubbed her head.

"Eh.. Itai.."

"Itai-san?" said the voice. Everything seemed very dark and Shirochii couldn't see anything at first, but once her eyes adjusted—which wasn't for a few minuets—she could see a young man towering over her in a black cloak and his hair covering his eyes.

"Ie, ie. Watashi wa Kuromashii Shirochii desu," Shirochii said calmly, then muttered, "Itai." She continued to rub her head and didn't bother to stand up in fear of the dizziness that would most likely ensue.

"Daughter of white?"

"You are..?" she dodged the question.

"Nekozawa Umehito."

She jolted upright. "Ah! You're Wan Ron-san's cousin! Are you not?"

Umehito seemed to be either upset or surprised about her knowledge of his family, and frowned. "How do you know this, Kuromashii-kohai?"

"I'm an acquaintance of his, Nekozawa-sempai. No, it's more mutual. We're both friends with Jean-Pierre Leo-kun."

"Are you friends with Wan Ron?"

"Not really, Nekozawa-sempai. Doushte?"

"Nothing. Now on to the matter of you being here…"

"Oh! Sumimazen! Sumimazen, Nekozawa-sempai! I've intruded in this… room..?" Shirochii could now look around the place that she and Umehito resided. It was similar to a broom closet. A rather large one. But missing the janitor's essential tools. Maybe Umehito had paid him off? Are not all the students here rich?

"It's alright, Kuromashii-kohai. I'll forgive you _if_ you… _Join the Black Magic Club_!"

Shirochii sighed. "I could never. Gomenasai. My family would not allow it. Again, gomen, Nekozawa-sempai. I would if I could.. you see." She trailed off as she thought of how angry her parents would be if they knew that she had joined the Black Magic Club.

"Sayonara?" Umehito said curiously.

She gave a weak face. "Maybe. That would depend if Wan Ron-san comes to visit again with Leo-kun."

Umehito nodded and Bereznoff—which Shirochii only noticed while she was leaving—waved goodbye. As she opened the door to the "outside world" Umehito seemed to cringe and skitter away deeper into the darkness.

Shirochii sighed and started walking down the many halls until she found the foyer. She called her parents with her cell phone. The limo was there in fifteen minuets, since the driver was speeding.

At home, she went straight to her room and closed the door roughly yet not so hard it'd slam and be heard downstairs. She trudged straight to her desk and shoved everything off, onto the floor. With a sigh, she poured the contents of her bag, mostly homework, and sat down on the hard wooden oak swivel chair. The only thought that was streaming through Shirochii's head was of Leo, Tamaki, and Haruhi.

"Ahh! Doushte?! Why do I keep thinking of him?!" she shouted, as if in strife with her emotions and thoughts. She leaned over her desk, her elbows set on the desktop holding up her head. Her face was contorted with angst. She wallowed in her own thoughts for an hour before the thought of the homework she had dumped in front of her that was in need to be finished came to her.

xxx

She sighed lightly as she closed her Science textbook and slipped it in her book bag with her History and Math textbooks. She turned to her on-desk clock to see it was seven-fifteen. On a normal Wednesday, she would have started her violin lessons an hour before, but she had graduated a week ago and no longer needed anymore teaching.

Shirochii sighed once more and stretched freely in her chair. She stood up to complete the stretch then wandered and jumped on her bed belly-first. She liked that no one would dare enter her room without her permission unless it was her family or a high ranked maid or servant. Maybe a doorman to tell her that the limo or other transportation was ready and there, but no one else.

Boredom was creeping upon her and allowing her mind to be filled with thoughts of _him_. She rolled onto her back and looked up to the ceiling, counting the colored star lights that were set up there. She had counted them before, since she was ten, but the act never tired her. Shirochii's violin lay in it's open case on the coffee table in her personal den in her room, no more than a minuet walk from her bed.

Shirochii turned her head to her night stand after she had counted the usual twenty stars. There was a bright lamp, a picture of one of the very few family events she had actually been able to go on, a phone, a tube of no name chapstick, a mirror, and a nice purple comb-hair piece that had a few strands of her light brown hair knotted in it. She turned her attention to the mirror next. First she stared at her blue eyes and how they both contrasted with her brown hair and how they, also, complimented it beautifully. Then she critiqued her personality, unseen by the mirror.

Shirochii thought herself as an oddball. She didn't wear makeup. She had huge, yet simple dreams. She would often do things just for the thrill, excitement, and just because she thought she could never do them; she wanted to make sure she knew what she could do and what she _couldn't_. She would wear bright shoes and a quite weird ensemble of clothing for casual dress. Her only talents are to cook, clean, play the violin, and sew. She sung horribly. She would sometimes catch the whispers, the unseen thoughts and meanings, between the lines of life. She liked to wear skirts, long ones unlike the rest of girls her age. She would leap before she looked; and leaped farther, too. She speaks before she thinks. Usually.

Yes, an oddball indeed, she may be. But in a beautiful way. She stood out from the normal crowd. She would stand in the wind just to feel the way it felt upon her skin. She lived outside the lines of life. She embraced vulnerability in herself and others! She would just be _herself_. Which is most unlike others her age. How they wallowed in their falseness that they believed it themselves! Lost their souls and minds in the façade they had put on and never taken off; it had glued itself to their faces, forever masking them hideously.

There was only one other person who had either taken off his mask or had never worn one in the first place. _Him_. The _him_ in Shirochii's head. The one she could not seem to escape from now that _he_ had popped back into her life. It had been over five years since she had seen _him_. Yes, that is a very long time. And no more waiting or procrastinating to call _him_, either! _He_ had never taken her for granted. _He_ had never thought of her as _that_ weird, even when she started listening to old bands like The Beatles and other English singers like Sarah McLachlan. _He_ had stayed by her side and still does! _He_ had thought fondly of her, she'd always wanted to think. She was his _Michelle_.

xxx

Shirochii's on-desk clock alarm went off, an annoying beeping sound could be heard all over her private quarters. She slowly opened her eyes to see morning daylight stream through her window. She rolled from her left side to her back and blinked slowly a few times to catch reality. To seep from the dreamy lalaland back to the real world that she had to face every day.

She moaned groggily as she sat up and rubbed her head. One glance at the clock set her off all around her room getting ready for the day. It was seven-thirty. She had fifteen minuets to get ready for school and her siblings liked to get there early for reasons unknown to Shirochii.

In the awful end, she took a shower, got dressed in her second Ouran uniform, ate breakfast, brushed her teeth and washed her face all in ten minuets. Her hair was windblown when she made it down to her mansion's foyer. Mizuiro had to fix it on the way in the limo, saying "tut-tut" while she did so.

"You should wake up earlier, block-head," Daidaiiro said, Mizuiro agreed.

Shirochii looked down at the floor as Mizuiro went back to sitting next to Daidaiiro, across from Shirochii. Her ego felt small and her will dead.

On her way to her classroom she bumped into a tall man that seemed six feet tall, her mind in a reverie. She looked up to see it was Kyoya. Her eyes tightened.

"Ohayo, Ootori-sempai. Sumimazen. Daijobu desu ka?" she asked politely.

Kyoya's eyes seemed to laugh with kind of sick, evil joy. "Ohayo, Kuromashii-san. I am feeling quite well. You?"

She put on a big smile and pretended not to catch the smirk beneath his faux smile, he had no interest what so ever in her. "I am doing fine. Thank you. I have to get to class now. Sayonara!" she shouted and left in a flush of air as she ran towards her class, not caring if he'd thought it offensive.

xxx

During lunch Shirochii met up with Todai in the cafeteria. "Ne, Momo-chan, don't you think you're being a bit hard on Tamaki-kun? He's quite nice, you know."

"Ie, Todai-kun! He's just always brought me trouble! He's been really nice since I've met him—he even taught me French! But he's just such an idiot sometimes. And he… just… I'm upset with him, okay?!" Shirochii snapped and hurled the final words at Todai with malicious force.

Todai gave her a weak smile, capped her drink on her tray, stood and walked away. "Sayonara, Momo-chan!" she shouted. Shirochii stood up as soon as she could and rushed after Todai with her tray of food.

"Todai-san! Todai-san, matte yo! Chotto matte! Todai-san!" she called after her. She had lost sight of Todai somewhere on the third floor. Shirochii was out of breath and caved in against a wall after seeing the sign that said "Third Floor Music Room."

But she fell through ominous doors, once more. But this time she knew where she was and who else she was with.

"Konichiwa, Nekozawa-sempai. Sumimazen," she said kindly and muttered, "Itai." She sat up and looked on the ground at her once lovely lunch. "Damn."

"Konichiwa, Kuromashii-kohai. Daijobu desu ka?" Umehito asked.

"Ahh! Alright, I guess, seeing as my lunch is now all over your carpeted crimson floor."

"It's alright. Easily cleanable. Would you like some of mine?" Shirochii turned from facing the door to facing Umehito sitting on a throne-like chair set against a purple curtain covered wall.

"Uh… hai..? Demo… Doushte? Why are you being so kind? Aren't you at all upset about what I've done? Don't you think I'm a bit strange?" Then she thought hard for a moment and figured this was only her general thought of everyone she met and was just being paranoid.

"Nani? Upset with you? For what, falling though my door two times? Simply dropping your half-eaten lunch on my carpet? It's alright. And I've been wondering the same thing with you. Why aren't _you_ afraid of _me_?"

Shirochii cocked her head slightly to her right side to fake innocence. "I don't know. I'm just a little girl," she said in a high pitched childish voice.

Umehito laughed. She stood and walked across the room to sit in front of him.

"Why do _you_ think?! I'm an oddball!"

"Oddballs stick together?" Umehito suggested.

She nodded. "Indeed. Especially when they're rich and are very few of them. Why are you always here by yourself?"

"I'm not. There are usually at least three other people in here. But right now they're having lunch elsewhere. And that time you first fell in we didn't have a meeting that day."

"So you just like hanging around in dark places? All day? By yourself?"

"Hai… is there a problem, fellow oddball?" Umehito said his lyrics as if he was criticizing her for talking out against what she is.

Shirochii smiled slightly. "Ie. There's absolutely no problem with that, Nekozawa-sempai," she said quietly.

He smiled a creepy smile that sent small chills down her spine. "You should be off now, shouldn't you?" he said as he handed her half his sandwich.

She nodded once. "Hai, actually, I should be. I'm looking for my friend, Todai. She's a second year, class A. You might know her? Brown shoulder-length hair, blue eyes…"

"Ie, gomen."

"Ah. It's alright. Sayonara, Nekozawa-sempai! And thank you for the sandwich!" Shirochii said as she stood up and half walked half ran towards the doors. As she turned to close the giant carved doors she could see his teeth glinting in the light from the outside world; he was smiling.

xxx

When school was over she stood slowly and packed her bags slowly. She was in no rush for leaving school and heading home. Even though she had no casualness at either place, she preferred to be at school where she was not forced to socialize with the others around her. As she slipped one of her personal books, Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes, she missed and it slipped out of her hands and did not reach her book bag. Instead, it landed on the ground, it's hard cover making a _thump_ sound.

Another student, Haku Zenshi, a student who had recently come back from the hospital for an eye surgery, picked up her book and handed it to her. No one really socialized with Haku either, it seemed, since he could only see through one eye. Shirochii would've taken this chance to bounce on him as a potential new friend, but she figured that he would just leave her once his eye had gotten better.

She looked up at Haku, a surprised look set upon her face. Haku's face looked like he meant her best. She slowly reached and took the book from him, and put it in her bag, this time not missing. "Thank you, Zenshi-san," she muttered quietly and placed her pencil case in her bag. She buckled it up by the two buckles and headed for the door.

"Matte!" he called.

She stopped and turned slowly, her face facing the ground. She thought she couldn't befriend him, so she smiled and looked at him straight in the eye. "Hai? Nani yo?"

"Eh.." he scratched the back of his head and looked at the floor then the window, only glancing at Shirochii as he did so.

"What is it that you want, Zenshi-san?"

He then seemed to blush, either from embarrassment or from something _else_. "Ah.. Could we hang out today?" he asked.

Shirochii smiled oddly, then laughed. "Haku, my boy, you are a very strange man," she said in English. He cocked his head. Obviously not able to speak fluent English, yet. "Zenshi-san, you are a very weird boy. Of course we can hang out today!" She ran to him, linked arms then walked hurriedly out of the classroom and down the stairs to the foyer. Lingering students in the foyer and hallways stared at them as Shirochii had a giant smile on her face, Haku had a nervous look set upon his, and their arms were linked. A rumor was in the making.

They walked and trotted through the front grounds then around to the garden. Not many flowers were there, only blossom buds and baby leaves. They were silent for a moment, Shirochii looking around the garden and Haku taking glances every now and then at her.

"Ne, Kuromashii-san—"

"Please, Zenshi-san, call me Momoiro," she cut in.

Haku paused, then continued. "M-Momoiro…-san?"

Shirochii smiled brighter and looked his way. "Nani?"

"W-what do you think? ..of me?" he asked.

"I think you're great, Zenshi-san! We'd make wonderful friends! But, sadly, I'm just too paranoid. Maybe we'll get past it or something?"

Haku's nervous frown finally turned into a smile. "Hai! We'll be good friends, Momoiro-san?"

"Hai! Demo… why do you want to ask this? Couldn't you have done it earlier today?"

"Ie. Sumimazen for taking you away from any family business or extra curricular activities you had today."

"That's fine, Zenshi-san! I really didn't have anything to do today except go home."

"Oh? I thought you were going to Host Club? Everyone's been saying how you're going out with Suoh Tamaki-sempai."

Anger flared inside her as Haku had said that. "So, I'm guessing, that all the girls hate me and are getting hosted by Tamaki just to piss me off? Or something?"

Haku raised an eyebrow as she didn't add an honorific to Tamaki's name. "No honorific?"

"I've known Tamaki since I was nine, Zenshi-san. I don't have to add an honorific if I don't want to."

Haku raised his hands in front of him and waved them as if shooing a fly away. "It's all fine, Momoiro-san. Most of the guys know that you aren't actually doing that, only the girls."

"Does Minu Todai-san think so?!"

"Ie. She doesn't. Well, at least, I don't think so."

"Oi, Zenshi-san, how do you know Todai?"

"I bumped into her today in the third library, not too far from the Host Club room. She informed me of everything."

"Ah. Too bad; she beat me to the punch." The two laughed.

"I think you should go talk to Tamaki-sempai."

"Ie, ie, ie!" She looked at the giant clock tower and how the purpleness of it contrasted with the gray sky. "I'd best leave now, Zenshi-kun. It's almost five. Sayonara!" Shirochii rushed up and off to the front of the school. Only a single limo lay waiting. She quickly rushed up to it and looked through one of the windows to see her two siblings.

She quickly huddled into the car and it started driving when she closed the door. "Bakka! Why did you keep us this late after school?! I have things to do today and Otou-san wanted to go to a meeting before we all leave for a dinner party!" Daidaiiro scolded.

"Bakka," Mizuiro agreed and crossed her arms and looked out the window.

"Demo…" Shirochii started.

"Ie, demo!" Daidaiiro shouted, his face tinted a light red.

She looked down at the floor and shut up the whole ride home, not participating in the conversations her brother and sister had.

Shirochii trudged up the stairs, the lingering thought of the day's events in her head. Her desktop trash from the day before still lay dumped on her floor, the maids had obviously not been in her room, just the way she liked it. Her bed was left messy and her curtains still not open from the morning. She gracefully opened them then sat down upon her bed. Then fell back. The coziness of the bed invited her to go to sleep, yet the light that shone through the window was dawn orange-red and signaled dinner instead of sleep.

Her book bag was set on her desk, the knowledge of the heavy books within it made her worry that she'd never get it done in time for dinner. Stress of school and everything around her was a bit pressuring. But she thought to herself that she'd make it through by the end of the night. Tomorrow was a Friday, and on Saturday she'd go to cram school and study the day away.

"I hate my life, no matter how exciting I try to make it," she suddenly said, the thought of how similar every day was. She turned over to her side and lay there for an hour until she was called down by Maria, a maidservant. She rolled off her bed, still in her Ouran uniform, and got dressed in a semi-formal attire.

She searched through her three closets for a long fluffy skirt in a green color, lime-green and white horizontal lined stockings, and wore red fluffy slippers. For a top, she put on an orange-yellow t-shirt with a babydoll formal black and white jacket with a tartan pattern on it. She ran down the stairs, making sure to close the door after her.

She sat down with her family and was lost in her own little world as the food was served to her. She looked down at the Clam Chowder that was made from scratch in the kitchen. Then she looked at the crystal clear glass of water that was imported from their private spring in France. We're absolutely rich, she thought, we're filthy stinking rich.

Slowly, Shirochii ate the soup and drank her water, not asking for tea or coffee like her siblings and parents. She was perfectly content with what was handed to her this night, being not too picky about her food. When she and her family were finished eating, they were served their dessert; vanilla ice cream with a chocolate cover and a vanilla-chocolate-mint drink.

She didn't like this one bit. But because she didn't want to be rude to the chefs who take care of the food for every meal and every snack, she took three bites and one sip. "I'm full," she said and excused herself from the table.

"More for me!" Mizuiro said and waved her hand for a servant to give her the bowl.

Shirochii held back a laugh and ran up the stairs to her room, where she caved in on the bed. Thoughts of _him_ infiltrated her mind once more and she moaned in annoyance. "Get out!" she wanted to shout, but knew that if anyone were to hear her they'd think her crazy.

"Please," she finally whispered, "no more of these visualizations. No more fantasizing, please. No more of this craziness.."

Just then, the phone rang. And she knew it was for her since she had her own personal phone line. She picked up the phone, irritated, and greeted, "Hello?"

"Is Shirochii there?" a male voice asked.

Suspicion aroused in her mind. Whoever she had given her number out to knew that this was her personal line, so whoever this was must have gotten it off someone else. "Speaking."

The male on the other end was silent for a moment, making Shirochii more suspicious. "Momoiro? It's Leo."

Shirochii's eyes widened, yet tightened. Her mouth dried and she felt like she had dropped the phone. It was _him_.


	3. Deadly

Simple Beauty

Chapter 3: Deadly

"Hello?! Momo-chan?! What happened? What was that?! Are you alright?!"

The phone lay on the hardwood floor next to Shirochii as she bent over, tears overflowing from her eyes. This was a dramatic moment for her, as it hit her that she had forgotten his voice since the last time they had spoken.

She picked up the phone with trembling hands and said, "H-hello?" in French.

"Momoiro! What happened?!"

"N-nothing, Leo. Absolutely nothing. Just happy to hear you again."

Leo sighed lightly from relief. Was that relief for _her_? "I've spoken to Tamaki. Heard you finally went back to Japan, eh? Is it how you actually remember it?"

"No, not really. Everyone _seems_ to still remember me."

"Tamaki says they call you 'Canada-ku'? Is this true?"

Shirochii nodded her head, but of course it meant nothing since Leo could not see. "Yes. It is."

"Oh, wait until I get back there. No one's going to call you that ever again." His voice was overflowing with malice, Shirochii shivered as a chill went down her spine.

"Hey, now, Leo. Don't get upset over just that! It's… it's nothing too bad, really. It's only been three days since I've got here. It's bound to clear up over time."

"And you would know this because…?" His voice was still harsh, and him using this tone with her made her sad.

"I _don't_ know. I'm _not_ sure. It's pure guess."

"Then don't say something like that and just let me do things for you."

"B-but… Leo!" she drawled with a cry.

A knock was made on her door. "Shirochii! Who are you talking to?! Get of the phone!" Shirochii's dad, Ao, said in English.

She sighed. "It's okay. I heard what he said, and it's alright. I'll call you again some other time. Remember, I'll be _at your door_ by February the first, eight in the morning."

"But I have school that morning and I have to be there by eight."

"Exactly. I'll drive you there so your family can take off that heavy weight of you," he teased.

"Leo!"

"Off the phone!" Ao said.

She sighed again. "Sayonara, Leo-kun."

"Sayo!" And she hung up the phone on her bedside table with a sigh. She wiped her eyes from the dry tears and got ready for bed.

She looked in her closets and messy room for her pink pajama bottoms with black spades and white skulls on them, and a grey spaghetti-strap tank top. Shirochii quickly got dressed and jumped into bed after she turned off her main light. Only the lamplight illuminated the room.

"Goodnight, fellow oddballs of the world," she whispered and went to sleep after turning the lamp off.

xxx

First she stretched. Then she yawned. Then she looked at the clock on her desk. Lastly, she rushed for school. Since it was quarter to eight. "Shit!" she shouted as she got dressed in the attire that had been laid out for her on the floor. Even the maids didn't care much for her, it seemed.

As she ran down the front stars, a single piece of buttered toast in her mouth, book bag and jacket in her arms, she noticed that the limo wasn't there. She peeked around the corner of the mansion and saw no other limos there either. The memory of there being no sounds in the kitchen came as a surprise to her, as well.

Shirochii ran back inside to look for servants, family, anyone. But could find no one. "What the hell? Where is everyone?" She double checked her parents room, and then decided to check their personal washroom—which she had not checked before.

On the countertop, next to the porcelain double sink, lay a scribbled note, only readable by her since her father's rushed hand was almost illegible to read by mere anyone.

The note read:

_Dear, Child;_

_I am writing you this note to inform you that __our__ whole family was called away on family matters far away in Canada. Apparently, your sister Midori, is pregnant. __We're all__ in crisis mode right now and we're all traveling there for a few weeks. Now, I know __it __may seem rather irresponsible of us, your family, to just leave you there with just the servants. So we gave them a break while we're gone. Since you always pick on and on about what to eat and what not to eat, we've left it all up to you. Hope the house is spotless when we return on Februa__ry 12. That's no dust, no spills, no mess. Not even your room, you hear me? If you have any questions, please call one of your friends for help. Use the phone next to this note._

_Thank you, Ao Kuromashii_

The note hurt Shirochii a little bit inside. The way her father wrote the note was as if he was writing it to an affiliation in Japan or, Canada, or France! And the way her father wrote "_Dear, Child._" He didn't bother to write her name for the chance he might've been late for the limo or plane. She thought this through. This couldn't have been the case since they had their own airplane jet line called "Color-wonder Airlines," and wouldn't leave without them.

And she didn't like that her father had signed the note with his full name and not father. Or how it was written in English and not Japanese, like he was embarrassed that he had to even write the note for her.

She looked up around her and saw not phone. She remembered there was a phone on the countertop in the dining room. Maybe her father had meant to leave it there but was "too much in a rush" to place the note where it should've been.

She glanced at the clock in her parents' room. It was five to eight and it took half an hour to get there unless you're speeding. And since there was no limo for her to take, her only other option was to call a friend and ask for a ride. But the chances of having a friend that was still at home wasn't good.

The only other idea in her head was to call Tamaki's cell—which he had handed her with Leo's cell number when they were talking the other day—and ask to borrow a limo. But arriving in a limo owned by Tamaki would raise suspicions, wouldn't it? It would be like fan service, she thought.

But it was the only plan that involved going to school, which she needed to do. At least today. Even if it was Friday.

Shirochii ran down the many stairs to the dining room and picked up the phone to call Tamaki's cell. Surely he wouldn't be in class just waiting for the bell to ring, right?

"Mushi-mushi," Tamaki said calmly. She heard the talk of Tamaki's classmates. She only hoped for the best.

"Ano.. Tamaki-sempai? Watashi wa… Momoiro desu."

"Wah! Momo-chan!" More talk could now be heard, but it was only a buzz.

"No, they're not," she could hear Kyoya say firmly.

"What do you want, Momo-chan?" Tamaki said in a giddy voice.

"Uh.. My family left me here in my mansion all by myself. And I have no way to get to school…"

"Nani?! How about your servants?!"

"Ie. Not even them. No limo drivers."

"Doushite?!"

"Eh.. Personal family matters, Tamaki-sempai."

"Hai."

"I… um.. called to ask you something…"

"Anything."

"Well, I don't have any means of transportation to get to school… so.. uh.."

"I'll get a limo there to pick you up as fast as I can. In the meantime, you can talk to Leo!" Tamaki shouted in French. Shirochii thought to herself, why couldn't he just talk in Japanese?

"Hai. Arigato gozaimasu, Tamaki-sempai."

"You're perfectly welcome, Momo-chan." And with that, _click_. Tamaki hung up and a limo was going to be sent to her front steps.

Then it occurred to her. It was eight in the morning here in Japan. But in Paris, France, it'd be eight hours behind. It would be around midnight where Leo is. She moaned in aggravation. But set it aside when she heard the honk of the limo horn out front. She quickly ran to the door, slipped on her shoes, locked the door, and ran inside it.

To her surprise, Tamaki had sent one of his _good_ limos. It was heated for the cold weather, had a TV and DVD player, and the places where you sit were warm, snug, and comfy. As she neared the school, her eyes began to droop and her book bag fell onto the floor. "Damn it," she muttered as she tried to stay awake. But all her attempts to stay awake were futile, as her eyes closed and she fell onto her right side. Asleep.

xxx

"Wake up, sleepy head!" a voice called from afar. As Shirochii came from lala-dreamy-land to the present time, Tamaki slipped into the seat across from her. "Momo-chan?"

"Wahh!" she slurred as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "W-what happened?" she mumbled and looked around to see she was still in Tamaki's limo.

"It seems like you fell asleep, Momo-chan. But you're awake now! And I have some news for you, too!" Tamaki shouted as the limo driver started the engine and drove.

Shirochii wiped her eyes clean from the sleep dust, as she likes to call it, and stared intensely at Tamaki, bracing herself for the worst. "Nani?" she wondered.

"The Host Club is going on a trip and you're coming with us! Since you don't have anyone at home to take care of you, I thought it'd be best if you spent some time with people!"

She sighed. "For how long, Tamaki-kun?"

"Just a few days."

"Ugh. Alright, Tamaki. Fine. Okay? Now, is that all you wanted to talk about that was urgent. Your face was quite excited and it still is. More news?" she asked in French.

"Yes!" Tamaki shouted in French.

"What is it?"

"You can stay at my place while your family's gone!"

"Oh, Tamaki. I can't do that. You see, my father's expecting me to keep the whole place clean. No dust, mess, or any other disturbances. Just like the way they left it, he expects. And I can't do anything while I keep that blasted place clean."

"The Host Club will help."

"No, they won't. They can't. They'll be too busy hosting girls during afterschool."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"It's five, Tamaki."

"So? Only an hour after. Please?"

Shirochii debated with herself on whether to go to Tamaki's or not. And then with herself on whether to cancel the trip with the Host Club or not, too. The decision she made was final, and thought through nicely.

"Hai. I'll go with you and the Host Club on this trip, _for sure_. And I'll stay over at your home until my parents get back."

"Yippee!" Tamaki shouted gleefully and glomped Shirochii playfully. "You're so tolerant of me, Momo-chan!"

Shirochii laughed. "Yes. It's how I'm supposed to be," she said in English.

xxx

Tamaki dropped Shirochii off at her home and said he'd be back in the morning to pick her up for the trip, which was on the weekend, the following two days. And she thought she'd go to a cram school somewhere in downtown.

As Shirochii sat at her usual spot at the dinner table, eating her tomato soup that was stored up in the cupboards, she thought of how the following days would be with Tamaki back in her life, bringing with him the large Host Club. "How troublesome," she muttered than finished off the soup with one giant sip from the side. She got ready for bed, and wore last nights pajamas again, since she never liked doing laundry by hand like the maids.

Shirochii sighed once lightly. "How on earth am I going to get past this situation?" she wondered to herself, and turned off the lights.

The next morning, Shirochii woke to the sounds of the doorbell ringing. She rushed out of bed and ran down the many stairs to the front. She opened the door with a single jerking pull and squinted to the dark shadow towering over her, blocking the sunlight.

"Who is it?" she muttered and brought her arms up to her face to block out the rest of the sun. There stood Tamaki, a smile that could challenge the sun on his face, no more than a foot away from her. "Tamaki?!" she shouted with surprise.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Momo-chan!" he said happily.

"T-Tamaki-san?! What time is it?"

"Nine o'clock!"

"Wah! I slept in!" she shouted and swayed to lean against the doorframe. "Eh… come in, Tamaki-kun, come in, please." Shirochii grabbed Tamaki and dragged him inside without hearing his response.

"Eh?! Doshtano, Momo-chan? You seem a bit.. off."

"Nande mo nai desu ka, Tamaki-kun."

"Ahh…"

"Matte, ne?" she asked.

"H-hai… Momo.." Shirochii turned on her heel and ran up to her room, leaving Tamaki standing at her door by himself.

She got changed and packed four full ensembles of clothing, also throwing in what she was currently wearing for her nightly wear. Searching through her room—closets, floor, and all—she decided to wear a _Speechless_ Patchwork Self-Belt ITY top with plain dark blue jeans and _Sketchers_ Bikers Water-Lily Mary-Janes. She jammed the four sets of clothing—including one bathing suit—and the mandatory things you'd need on a trip, into one of the larger purple and black _Protocol_ Floral Jaquard Collection traveling bags. She then ran down the stairs, almost tripping on the second last step.

"Tamaki-kun! I'm done!" she called as she neared the front. Tamaki still stood there, leaning against the door looking down at his feet until she walked in through the doorway. His head shot up and a smile came upon his face. He opened the door and grabbed the hanging keys from beside the door.

"Ready to leave?"

Shirochii nodded her head. "Hai! Demo… where are we going, Tamaki-kun?"

He closed the door after she had set the alarm, then she locked the door. Tamaki walked her to the limo as he spoke. "We're going to Sendai in Tohoku!" he shouted.

"What?! Really?!" she shouted, surprised. "Why so far?"

The two got into the limo. "I don't know. It's just a change."

"Are we headed for the airport now or are we picking someone else up?"

"Ahh… we're picking up Haruhi.."

"Who's Har—oh! That girly feminine looking guy?!"

Tamaki nodded. "Hai."

"Yeah! He's cool." She smiled as she said this, as she truly meant it.

"I think you two would get along."

"Hontou? You think so, Tamaki-kun?"

"Hai, Momo-chan."

xxx

The Host Club—plus Shirochii—get off the airplane and make their way to their assigned limos. The three limos were numbered, and each host was given a number. The choices were picked from a hat so it was fair. In limo number one was Kyoya, and Shirochii. In limo two there was Tamaki, Honey, and Mori. Then, in number three was Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi. Tamaki wasn't happy with the choices.

"Ie!" Tamaki wailed as the twins glomped Haruhi. "Draw again! Draw again! Get your hands off my daughter! Mom! Get those monsters off Haruhi!"

Kyoya merely wrote something down on his clipboard—having left his laptop at his home in fear of it breaking—and got into the first limo. Shirochii stared at the scene for a bit longer, then got into the limo with Kyoya.

The limo started, and was off to the hotel they would be staying at. The two sat on either sides of the limo, and on opposite ends, as well. But the distance between them made Shirochii uncomfortable in her seat, making her fidget quite a bit.

"Oi, Canada-ku, doshtano?"

"Nande mo nai desu ka, Ootori-sempai. And I'm not 'Canada-ku,' sempai."

"Is that so?" Kyoya looked up from his clipboard at Shirochii. "Doushite?"

"I am Japanese, sempai. Not Canadian."

"Ie. You've lived in Canada, got yourself mixed in with them, and made yourself like them. You're also younger than me, Canada-ku."

She sighed lightly. "Onegai, Ootori-sempai. Yamete."

"Mm. Hai." And their conversation ended right there, the silence making Shirochii more and more uncomfortable since she knew that their "friendship" was getting worse by the second. Deep peril, she thought.

But she fought it off with the thought of Haruhi and all his qualities.

"Ne, Ootori-sempai?"

"Nanda yo?"

"Eh… Ki-ni shinai-de. _Nevermind_."

"Hidoi-na_. That's too bad_." She left the question for later, when she had gathered enough evidence to back up the suspicion.

The limo arrived at the hotel and Kyoya and Shirochii got out happily, the latter holding her bag. She stared up at the hotel, then at the area they were in. The other two limos pulled up within the next five minuets. Kyoya had gone inside to check their reservations, while Shirochii had waited outside for them.

"Momo-chan!" Tamaki shouted and jumped on the poor girl.

"Ie! Tamaki-kun! Yamete! Ochitsuite! _No! Tamaki! Stop! Calm down!_"

"Ah, hai, Momo-chan." The third limo's door opened and Haruhi got out. Shirochii could feel the tension in Tamaki's arms as he got out. She could tell that he wanted to go over there and jump on him as he did her. But Shirochii wondered why.

"Oi, Tamaki-kun. You can go, you know." She looked up at him with a smile on her face. He looked down at her and his grip tightened around her shoulders.

"Ie, Momo-chan. Genki desu. Kimi wa? _I'm fine. You? _"

"Watashi-mo genki-desu. Arigatou gozaimasu, Tamaki-kun. _I am fine, too. Thank you, Tamaki. _"

They started to head inside. "Wah! Why so formal?! You'll hurt my heart if you keep up with that."

She laughed. "Baka-mitau! _That's stupid! _"

Tamaki let go of her shoulders. "Momo-chan? Daijobu desu ka?"

"Sugoi, _Awesome, _" she muttered and stalked away to Kyoya. "My keys, Ootori-shi.(1)"

Kyoya thought this odd of her, and smirked. "Hai, Kuromashii-tomo.(2)" Her eyes tensed slightly as the keys were dropped into her hand.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu, Ootori-shi. Sayonara." She turned on her heel and wheeled her suitcase with her to the suite she would be staying in.

On her bed she lay, running the events of the day though her head and looking for the reason for all the formalness of her and Tamaki's conversation from earlier that day.

"I don't get it. What snapped? Was it Kyoya?" her thoughts halted there. "He had referred to me as his servant, I know it! Not his friend!"

"Sou dana. _That's a good question. Well how can I put it? _Maybe I meant both, Kuromashii-tomo."

Shirochii jolted upright and stared at the door's half-open frame. "Nani yo?"

"Nande mo nai desu ka."

"Nanka yo?! Nande sonna-koto iu-noyo?!_ Do you want to say something? Why do you talk like that?! _"

"Shiranai. _I don't know. _"

"Baka je-nai. Baka da. B-b-baka-mitai. _You're stupid. What you did was stupid. Y-y-you look stupid. _" Kyoya stood there, in the doorway. His eyes would not betray him, and Shirochii tried her best not to show hers. "Jiro jiro minai-deyo! _Don't stare at me! _"

"Ie. Baka jan. _No. That's stupid. _"

"Baka iwanai-deyo. _Don't say stupid things. _"

"Kimi wa kawaii. _You're cute. _"

"Kuchi ni chakku! Jama shinai-deyo. _Shut up!__ Stop bothering me._"

"Hai, Tomo." Kyoya nodded his head once and exited the scene, closing the door behind him. Once Shirochii heard the _click_, she laid down on her bed and sighed heavily.

"Kuso!" she shouted. Someone knocked on the door. "Nani yo?!"

The door opened and Shirochii turned her head towards the door to see it was Haruhi. She sat up. "Oh, Fujioka-san. Sumimazen. I was rude. Nande?"

"I heard you talking with Kyoya-sempai. Ie, you two were arguing. I couldn't hear what it was about. I don't mean to pry, but I'd like to help."

She laughed. "Sou dana… Nande mo nai desu ka. Ii desu yo? _That's right, but how should I put it? It's nothing at all. Okay? _"

"Ie, Momoiro-san. Daijobu desu ka?"

"Gatagata itten-ja neyo! _Stop your babbling! _"

"Momoiro-san!"

"Mo ii-yo! I'm going out for a bit. I won't be back for a while. _Forget it! I've had enough! _"

Haruhi looked down. "Hai, Momoiro-san. I'll tell the others—"

"When they ask," Shirochii cut off. She certainly wasn't feeling like herself. She simply hasn't lately, since her parents left. It's like I've been let loose, she thought as she exited the hotel and took off down a random alley.

* * *

1) _"My keys, Ootori-shi."_ - She is referring to Kyoya as someone very distant from herself, and who she doesn't mind at all. She's treating him as if she's never met him, and doesn't ever want to get to know him. 

2) _"Hai, Kuromashii-tomo."_ - The honorific "-tomo" is added to a person who is a servant, a friend, or both. Shirochii takes this as a bit of an offense, since she's taking the honorific as Kyoya calling her his servant.


	4. Oh, the Wonders

Simple Beauty

Chapter Four: Oh, the wonders

As Shirochii rounded a corner she bumped into a group of men. Having fallen on the ground, she muttered, "Itai."

"Ge-ge?" said the man she had bumped into. "What do we have here, boys?"

Shirochii stood up on her own and took slow steps backwards into a puddle of water, making a splash. This startled her and she turned and ran as fast as she could back the way she came. But they were faster.

Two of the men grabbed her from behind and whammed her to a wall. "Stay here, girl, and nothing… _too_ bad will happen, ii-desu-yo?"

"Ie! Yamete! Yamete-yo! Hottoite-yo! Te-o dokete-yo! Sawannai-de! _No! Stop! Stop it! Leave me alone! Take your hands off! Don't touch me!_"

"Nante itta-noyo? _What did you say?_" asked one of the men.

A young man passing with burgundy eyes , dyed black hair, and red tinted sunglasses passed by, then halted at the entryway of the alley. "Oi! Yamero-yo! Hottoke-yo! Dame-dayo! _Stop it! Leave her alone! You shouldn't do that!_" he shouted. The man wore a red collared shirt, a black jacket, and a necklace with a cross on a leather string.

"Fuzaken-ja neyo. Kichigai. Dare-ni mukatte mono itten-dayo? _Don't act stupid. You're crazy. Who do you think you're talking to?_" asked one of the four men.

"Boku namae wa Zaku Tenshi desu. Hottoke-yo," Tenshi ordered.

The men, at first, were surprised by his name, where Shirochii had no effect to the name. But the men still held her up against the wall with no mercy, their hands getting ever closer to revealing her belly then further.

"Yoku iu-yo. Fukashi-jan! _Bullshit. That's a lie!_" the one of Shirochii's left shouted.

"Oshaberi, _You've got a big mouth,_" muttered the one of her right.

"Yada! Itta-tori-ni shiro-yo. _No way! Do as I say._"

The two men dropped Shirochii on the ground, the splatter of the mud she landed in going as far as one meter. "Itai!"

Tenshi only approached the girl when the four men were out of sight and earshot. "Ogenki desu ka?"

"Sugoi," she muttered and stared up at the young man from the mud. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Zaku-san."

"Help?" he wondered and extended a hand.

She frowned up at him then took his hand. "Hai, Zaku-san." Tenshi pulled her up carefully yet quickly.

"Onegai. Tenshi to yon-de kudasai. Namae wa? _Please. Call me Tenshi__. Your name?_"

Shirochii smiled. "Watashi wa Kuromashii Shirochii desu. Hajimemashte."

"Hai. Where are you from? And why are you here? Baka da. _What you did was stupid._"

"Wakaranai. _I don't understand._"

Tenshi sighed. "You shouldn't have come down here by yourself. Do you have any idea where you are right now, Kuromashii-san?"

"Shiranai."

"You're in the bad part of Sendai. Now, where are you supposed to be?"

"At the Agui Hotel, Tenshi-san."

"Koi, I'll take you there."

"Hai." Tenshi turned and escorted Shirochii out of the alleyway with such a gentlemanly manner, it brought Leo and Tamaki to mind. It made her think of the day she met the two boys.

It was in Paris, France. She was walking across a bridge's hand railing when she slipped and fell into the water. Two boys, both blonde but one with green eyes and the other purple, ran to the river's shore. When she had resurfaced, the two boys were looking at her and calling out to see if she was alright. She had said, "Sugoi," in an undertow, then gotten out of the river. What embarrassed her the most was that she was wearing a white sundress that her mother had forced her to put on. The dress was now see-through and the little 8-year-old Shirochii was with two older boys. Even though it was only by one year.

Since then, they were very good friends, though, she was only there for two months for her family's business.

"Ne, Tenshi-san?"

"Nande?"

"Why did those men call you a liar when you said your name? And why did they run off when they learned it was the truth?"

"Ah. You're most definitely not from Sendai. I am the son of the 'main man' around here. Zaku is a very positive and prosperous police family here. In Sendai, we _are_ the law."

"Ii-desu-yo. Wakatta."

"You seem very stable and calm for someone who was about to get raped by four men," Tenshi pointed out.

"Eh… I don't know why. But just thinking about certain things makes me calm."

"Ah. Hai."

The two walked closely together all the way back to the Agui Hotel. Shirochii had finally noticed—when she looked at the lobby's clock—that she had been gone for six hours. Sendai surely is a noticeable and lovely city, she thought when she had looked at the clock and learned her time of distance.

Hikaru and Kaoru were in the lobby at the time of Shirochii's reappearance. "Momo-chan! Baka!" they both shouted.

"Nani yo?" Shirochii asked while on Tenshi's left arm. When the twins saw this they halted their movements and seemingly took slight offence to this. They surely have information that Shirochii does not know, or seemingly does not need to know.

"Where were you?! The Host Club has been looking all over Sendai for you! Tono even called the police!"

"Mo ii-yo! Where is Tamaki now?"

"Shiranai. But Kyoya-san is in his room. He's been up there since you left. And hasn't talked to a _single person_."

Shirochii sighed heavily. "Hai," she drawled out.

"Nande sonna-koto shita-no?!" The four turned to the front doors to see Tamaki and Haruhi walk in a rushed manner through them. "Baka-da! Baka Yamero-yo!"

"T-T-Tamaki-kun!" Shirochii shouted. Tamaki dialed a number quickly and said something to the someone on the other side. Shirochii only thought it was Honey or Mori. But when he handed the phone to her, her thinking stopped and she stared at Tenshi for guidance.

"Take it," he advised.

She swallowed hard and reluctantly took the phone from Tamaki, the person on the other end now only perfectly clear.

"M-mushi-mushi," she whispered and unlinked arms with Tenshi.

"Momoiro! Don't ever go off like that again, do you hear me?" Leo said in French.

"I was only going out for a walk!"

"Promise me you'll never 'go for a walk' by yourself in Sendai or any other place other than Tokyo ever again."

She sighed. "Yes, fine, alright. I promise you that, Leo."

"Good. You made us all worried sick! When Tamaki told me you were missing I jumped out of bed and wanted to go right over there to find you. Don't make us worry like that."

Shirochii could tell he was trying to hide the meaning of "I" with the usage of "us" in his mini lecture. She smiled.

"I'm sorry I made you worry, Leo."

"Apology accepted!"

Shirochii looked up at Tenshi's worried face and felt bad. She was talking on the phone when her new friend was standing right in front of her. And in French, too. "Um.. I have to go now, Leo. Talk to you later, maybe?"

"Okay. Definitely! Bye!" Shirochii hung up and handed the phone back to Tamaki.

"Gomen, Tenshi-san."

"It's alright."

"Don't ever go off like that again, Momo-chan," Tamaki said firmly.

"I told Haruhi that I was going for a walk! I don't understand how—"

"That's the point! You only told her that you were going for a walk! Not where you were headed or where you would be if we needed you. Wakarimasu ka? _Do you understand?_"

Shirochii looked at Tamaki then at Haruhi, then at Haruhi's chest. "Tamaki-kun, you said 'she.' Isn't Haruhi a boy?" Tamaki froze.

Tenshi looked at Haruhi from head to toe, then laughed. "You must be kidding me! This is supposed to be a boy?! How can you _not_ see that it's a she?"

Tamaki and the twins stared at Tenshi menacingly. Shirochii grabbed his arm and started to slowly drag him back towards the front doors. "Who are you?" the three boys asked evilly.

"Ehh…"

"Well, then! Tenshi-kun and I are going out to eat! Aren't we, Tenshi-kun?"

"Uhh… H-hai! M-Momo-s-chan.(1)"

Shirochii winced at the nickname now catching on to strangers. "Sayo!" she drawled and sped away with Tenshi before any of the hosts could react.

xxx

The two didn't talk until they were seated at a restaurant. The silence was both comforted, and unneeded.

"What was that about?" Tenshi asked, "who were they?"

"They're members of the Host Club, this club at my school. And the person I was talking to on the phone was a dear friend of mine."

"Ii-desu-yo. Wakatta."

A lady came to their table with a pad of paper. "What would you two like to order?"

Shirochii held up the menu. "I'll have the A.A.C.C maki, California maki, miso soup, and a regular udon."

Tenshi laughed. "Sure you can eat all that?"

Shirochii smiled. "Hai!"

"I'll have a regular udon, chicken ramen, and California maki."

"…maki… Ii-desu-yo. What would you like to drink?"

"Tea, onegai," Shirochii said.

"What type?"

"Green."

"And you sir?"

"I'll have black coffee, onegai. Arigatou."

"Ii-desu-yo… Coming up." And the lady walked away to pin their order at the bar.

Tenshi rested his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. "Now tell me. How old are you?"

"I am 15 years old. Kimi wa?"

"18."

"Ah. So you are a third year? What class?"

"A."

"I'm in B."

"What are your hobbies?"

"Eh… Reading, listening to music… thinking… sports, playing my violin.."

"Sugoi! You play the violin? I _love_ the violin!"

Shirochii smiled. "Arigatou, Tenshi-kun."

"When did you start playing?"

"When I was seven."

"Onegai, tell me about it."

"When I was five, my family took me on an outing—this was before I matured and they started hating me. We went to an opera house in France, my family has always had this fascination with France, you see. Anyway, my eyes weren't glued to the singers, as most were; mine were focused on the orchestra. More to a point, the violinists. How their heads were bent over their violin, and moving from side to side as if they themselves were lost in the music they were playing. I just found it… lovely."

"And did you parents enroll you in a violin school right away?"

"Ie. I had pleaded them the day after to buy me a violin. And they finally did when I was six. But I had yet to learn how to play. After about a year of trying by myself, they finally had the nerve to enroll me in a school at my expense."

"Doushite?" Tenshi asked, and cocked his head lightly to his right.

Shirochii looked down at the fogged glass table between them. "I had matured greatly while in that violin school, making tons of friends who both admired me and were equal to me in skill. I felt a bit like queen bee and I was only seven years old." She laughed lightly at herself and her memories of those days. "But there were also those who hated me because I was better than them, and disliked me because I had so many friends, and ignored me because I was rich and could afford my own pricey violin every year that I grew.

"So I learned the ways of how a non-high-class family's life was like through my non-rich friends. And I loved it. From then on, I spent much of my time either with my non-rich friends, practicing my violin, or researching the things behind the rich family's expenses. I started to hate the rich. I grew detached from my friends at school, and closer to those from violin school. I stopped picking those gorgeous violins in the store for used, more precious ones in the pawn shop since they meant more to someone than a brand new soulless one.

"Never had I noticed that my family was changing to fit my own change. They were growing distant with me, as I was with my Ouran friends. Only my oldest sister, Midori, kept in touch with me. I only guessed it was because she was mature enough to see the difference in me and remember those times, and help me through them. Yeah, Midori was a very good sister of mine."

"What happened to those friends of yours in violin school?"

"Shiranai. After I left to Canada, we lost touch. Haven't seen or spoken to them since."

"You go to Ouran High? In Tokyo?" Tenshi asked curiously.

"Hai."

"I might be transferring there after spring break!"

Shirochii brightened up at this. "Oh! Well, then. We'll keep in touch until we can meet in person again, eh?"

The first line of food came with drinks. "Yeah!" Shirochii laughed and dived into her food just like Tenshi.

* * *

1) _"Uhh… H-hai! M-Momo-s-chan."_ - Tenshi was going to say Momo-san, but stopped him and said chan to make it seem like they were closer. 


	5. Importance

Simple Beauty

Chapter Five: Importance

Shirochii and Tenshi walked to the Agui Hotel, talking, arms linked. The ones who knew Tenshi and cared enough about him to stare, did so when he and Shirochii passed.

"Pig," Shirochii laughed, "you finished before me!" The two were speaking in English.

Tenshi laughed. "You ordered more. _And_ you're a lady! It's alright that you finished after me."

"But by doing so, you made _me_ feel like the pig! Jerk."

The two laughed. "Well, I'm sorry I made you feel like a big, fat pig, then."

"Hey! I never said I felt fat!" Shirochii said through laughs.

"Huh? You didn't? I swear you just did!"

"What?!"

"'I felt fat,' you said."

She laughed. "Editing my words, now, Sir?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about, Miss. I don't even know why you're hanging onto my arm..."

"I was just hanging onto you because I was afraid that I'd be… _attacked_ again," she said quietly, shyly. "But fine!" she exclaimed and let go of his arm, "I won't hang on if you don't like it, Sir."

He rubbed his arm where she had once held onto. "Aww, now I'm all cold," he complained.

She smiled childishly and grabbed his arm again happily. "I'll be your fire, Sir!"

"What's with the formalness, now, Shirochii?"

"I don't know. I just feel… different! Like I'm released from a case that I've been in for so long. Did you know that my parents are out of the country right now?"

Tenshi raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Yep! They're in Canada with Midori..."

"Why did they leave without you?"

"They don't care about me, remember? And the distance between us seem to get larger every day… Apparently, it was urgent."

"What happened with your sister?"

"She's pregnant."

His face showed shock. "How old is she?"

"Twenty years old. Turning twenty-one this year, though," Shirochii explained.

"Oh… that's pretty young."

"Yeah… but her and Aaron are very much in love…"

"Aaron? Is that Midori's boyfriend?"

"No. Her husband. They got married last week. While the rest of the family got to go see her, I had to stay home and pack the rest of the stuff for us to take off the next day. I never even got to say goodbye to her!"

"That's sad. Why not me and you go over there sometime and check up on her and your.. niece or nephew?"

Shirochii brightened up at once. "That'd be wonderful! I love to do that! But I doubt my parents would let me go see her…"

"I'll have a talk with them. In fact, how about we go and spend the whole summer vacation over there?"

"B-b-but… What if they won't allow it? What if they kick me out? I don't care about the money, so long as I have a place to stay.."

"You can come live with me. Or maybe one of your other friends could care enough to let you stay with them until you're financially stable."

She thought for a moment. She liked the idea, to be away from her family anytime was an absolute treat. But contradicting to her words, and to her dislike, she _did_ care about the fortune she'd inherit. She'd want little, but still _something_.

"That may happen… that may work. But there's still the possibility of a no at any point in the plan."

"As I've said before. You can come stay with me. I'll be getting my own apartment for a year after I graduate, just to see how it is to be a normal person, ya' know?"

"Oh! I know how it is to be a normal person! I've been one while I was with my violin school friends."

Tenshi smiled warmly at her. "That must have been nice… to experience a normal life, even if it was artificial and temporary."

Shirochii nodded. "Yes. Yes, it was."

The two went silent for a moment and rounded a corner to come into view of the Agui Hotel; it was across the street in the middle of the block.

"Would you like me to walk you in? Or for me to stay here…?"

"It's fine either way. The boys don't care much about me… Only Tamaki."

Tenshi smiled with pride. "Then, as my duty as your chaperone, I shall walk you to your room and shant stray," he said with his right hand up.

She smiled brightly and laughed. "Now who's formal?" she teased.

"You, Miss."

"Fine, Sir." Tenshi then walked Shirochii across the street and to the front doors. In the lobby were the twins and Kyoya, sitting in the lounge seats and conversing.

Kaoru was the first to notice the pair, then Hikaru, followed by Kyoya. He rose first, despite him being the last one to notice, and walked in a hurried manner to the two.

"Konnichiwa, Momo-chan. Daijobu desu ka?" he asked directly to Shirochii, completely ignoring Tenshi.

"Ah! Kyoya-shi!" Kyoya's eyes tightened at the honorific still being used on his name. "Ogenki desu. Anata wa?"

He smiled. "Boku Ogenki desu."

"Sugoi!" she shouted, and tightened on Tenshi's arm. Her reaction contradicted her tone of voice and the words she was saying. He looked down at her with concern.

"Shirochii…" Tenshi said quietly.

She turned up to him with a quick movement. "Nani?"

"D… daijobu desu ka?"

Kyoya coughed once. "I've already asked that question. She's fine," he said with a malicious firmness.

"But is she really?" Tenshi replied, just as upset.

Kyoya's eyes were set on Tenshi, they reflected the anger inside him. Tenshi only stared back.

"Eh… Tenshi… Can you please take me to my room..?"

"Hai. I can," he confirmed, but didn't move.

"…Now?" she whispered and tugged on his sleeve. Both boys looked down at her.

Tenshi nodded. "Hai," he said and started leading her away. When they were in the elevator, he questioned, his expression still cold but also curious, "What room number are you?"

She flipped out. "What was that about?!" she shouted in English.

His expression changed to show he was upset, too. But also innocent and hurt. "What are you talking about?!" he replied, also in English.

"What do you mean what am I talking about?! Why the hell did you just do that?!"

"When you tightened on my arm I assumed that you were uncomfortable…"

"So I needed comforting! So what? That doesn't include you fighting my battles for me, Tenshi! You're eighteen! You have to read and understand people better!"

He seemed more hurt."Sumimazen gozaimasu, Shirochii-san."

"Oh, please! Don't go back to speaking Japanese just to sound more distant!" He seemed more hurt by the onslaught of words. She sighed deeply. The two had drifted to be two feet apart from one another, and this surprised her.

"Look, I'm sorry if I displeased you, Tenshi. It's just… Kyoya is _my_ problem, and _my_ problem only. I don't want anyone fighting my battles, it's just one thing I can be proud of." She spoke with a new calmness and sounded slightly motherly. Her soft words made Tenshi take a step forward and wrap his arms around Shirochii's shoulders playfully.

"It's okay, Shirochii. I understand."

She smiled. "Good, then."

"Well… can you please tell me which floor and where your room is now so I can take you there?" They laughed.

xxx

The two sat in Shirochii's room, her on the bed and Tenshi on the chair next to the bed. "Know what I hate?" Shirochii suddenly said in English. Her words cut the silence like a knife since they were sitting in it for fifteen minuets already.

He looked up from the floor, new curiosity found in his eyes. "What?"

"When guys go up to girls and show off. They think that just because they're well muscled and handsome looking that they get a girl instantly! And most girls fall for them because of their bronze and not their brains!" She gave a grunt at the end to signify that she was angry, although by the tone of her words, you could already tell.

Tenshi laughed. "You make the biggest deals out of nothing! And how you find them is interesting, too. Has this ever happened to you?"

"Only once… But, of course, I never fell for him. Sure, he was cute, but once I started talking about what it's like to be the person doing and the person watching, he was lost."

He laughed again. "Well, Shirochii, not many people can understand how you think, you know. I, myself, can barely follow along. You think wonders in your mind. The only problem is that you can't verbally express them to others quite so well."

"Eh?"

"But you know what? When you are finally able to, I bet you'll be one of the wisest of them all. And people will come to you for advise… And maybe you'd get your own talk show!"

Shirochii shook her head. "No. What I want is in acting or music. My thinking and violin talents shant be wasted!" she exclaimed in a playful manner.

"I can only guess why you chose acting as a career choice."

"Jerk," she muttered madly.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

"Hmm?"

A slight grin appeared on Tenshi's face. "I didn't quite hear what you said, Miss. Please repeat it."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I didn't say anything."

"Didn't say anything, eh?" he said huskily as he got up lazily from the comfy, sink-in chair. "Nothing at all?"

"Aiming to intimidate me because you're taller, now?"

"You're a good archer."

"The best in the country," she joked.

"Mind to repeat yourself calling me a jerk, Miss?"

"See?! You already heard what I had to say, Sir."

"Oh, but it's better when you say it yourself."

"Fine, then. I said you were a jerk. Happy now?"

"Yes," he said and pounced on her, trapping her to the bed. "You're not getting away!" he said playfully and started tickling her.

"S-stop! Please! Tenshi!" she shouted between laughs. "Tenshi! Stop it! Please!"

He laughed a variation of a pirate's laugh. "Nope! You're too precious of a treasure to let loose! Arr!"

She laughed more as one of his hands began to rise to her neck. She quickly trapped it between her chin and shoulders. "Stop! Stop! Too… much! It hurts, Tenshi! Stop! Stomach… burning!" she managed to say between laughs. But by now her laughs were so harsh that they were silent and only small dry-heaves between laughs were audible.

Two loud bangs on the door and it burst open, not leaving enough time for Tenshi to stop tickling and get off of Shirochii. Someone had ran into the room, lifted and threw Tenshi off of Shirochii in one fluent move. He slammed into the wall near the head of the bed.

The single move left the female shocked, and even more so when she found out it was Honey. Her mouth stayed agape as she stared at the unconscious Tenshi laying half on the bed half on the floor.

In came Mori, followed by the Twins, Tamaki, Haruhi, then Kyoya. "Daijobu desu ka?" Tamaki shouted as he ran in to sit next to her.

"Ah… T-T-Tenshi!" she shouted and slid off the bed to sit next to him. His head and shoulder area rested on the bed while his body lay on the carpet.

"Nande?" Kyoya almost shouted. "He was going to have his way with you and yet you still care for him?"

Tears came down her eyes as she could see his physical appearance already changing. "Tenshi…" she cried.

"Momo-chan?"

"H-h.. He wasn't trying to rape me… He w-was… just tickling me! B-but I guess.. by th-the way it s-sounded… E-even I wouldn't be able to tell the d-difference… eh?" She fumbled over the words as her cries and hiccups got in the way. Her unsteady hand stretched outwards to grace his left cheek.

A weak moan escaped his lips. "Tenshi!" she shouted and tensed up.

"Call an ambulance!" Tamaki shouted. Hikaru immediately went to the nearest phone and dialed 9-1-1. He gave the operator the needed information that he knew, then hung up.

"They'll be here soon, Momo-chan," he said.

"T-Tenshi…" Shirochii repeated.

"How close are you to Tenshi-san?" Kyoya suddenly asked.

His tone of voice was what angered Shirochii and what drew the attention from the wounded Tenshi to himself.

"Kyo-chan! You told me to ram the door! You told me to get the bad man off of Momo-chan! You said she was in trouble!" Honey cried and burst into tears as he looked from Kyoya to the broken Tenshi. Mori came over quickly and scooped him up.

"Gomen, Momo-chan! Gomen nasai, Ten-chan!"

"Momo.." Tamaki whispered and slid off the bed to kneel next to her. Arms stretched around her shoulders in a large hug.

"T… Tenshi!" she shouted as the ambulance sirens were able to be heard now. "They're coming now, Tenshi... They're coming.."

"It's alright, Momo. Everything'll be fine in the morning," Tamaki whispered.

"I-ie! T-Tenshi!" The tired eyes started seeping tears again and her arms found their way around Tenshi to hug him. "S-sorry…" she whispered in English.

The paramedics ran into the room and pushed Shirochii aside. "Back away, Miss. We need room," one of them said and started doing a diagnosis. Not even a minuet passed and he says something inaudible to the others to the female paramedic, who nods once. She helps the first paramedic lift Tenshi onto the stretcher with one fluid motion.

"What's wrong?!" Shirochii shouted but the two ignored her and continued to do their duty. "What's wrong with him?!" she demanded.

"We need to take him to the emergency room," the male said to the female.

"Wakatta," she replied and the two started wheeling Tenshi away at a very fast pace.

"Yamete! Yamete!" Shirochii shouted and tried to go after them, hoping she could ride in the ambulance with Tenshi, but Tamaki held her back. "Let go, Tamaki! Let go!"

"Ochitsuite!" Tamaki shouted and his grip slid to wrap around her waist, then it tightened. She stopped struggling when she heard the sirens outside start. "Momo… Tenshi-kun will be fine." She slid to the ground, Tamaki still holding onto her. She turned around roughly and grabbed around Tamaki's neck. Then, she cried.

She didn't care what the other males in the room thought of her. She didn't care if Haruhi thought she was reckless or unruly or not neat enough. She didn't care about anything, at that moment, more than she did about Tenshi.

"Onegai…" she whispered in Tamaki's ear, "onegai… don't let him die.."


	6. Unframed Artwork

Simple Beauty

Chapter Six: Unframed Artwork

"A mild concussion, a broken humerus, and a fractured collarbone," Kyoya told the others after the doctor had left.

"How long will he have to be here?" Tamaki asked for Shirochii, since she couldn't ask for herself because she was sleeping soundlessly beside him.

"Unsure, but roughly a week or so."

"Wakatta."

"Onegai…" Shirochii mumbled in her sleep. Anyone could tell what—or _who_—she was dreaming of, it didn't take an expert.

"She really linked with him in those few hours, eh?" Haruhi said mindlessly. She sat on the opposite side of Shirochii.

"Hai, she really did. I wonder why, though… she's usually distant with those she first meets. They must share much in common, then," Tamaki said briefly.

Kyoya paced around for a while as Haruhi and Tamaki continued to chat about Shirochii. He felt a draw to the girl, but didn't understand what that draw was. When he's around her, he feels like he should protect her, and nothing more. He wasn't attracted to the girl _that way_, but his thought of her is that she's a cute little girl who is in need of protection. And he will deliver that, exactly what she needs.

"Oi, Tono. We're heading back to the hotel. We feel odd because we have no real ties to this Tenshi person," Hikaru said, referring to him and Kaoru.

"Takashi and I are heading back, too, Tama-chan," Honey said, rubbing his eyes.

"Hai," Mori said stiffly.

"Wakatta. Sayonara!" Tamaki called after them.

"Sayonara, mina!" Hikaru and Kaoru shouted as they left.

"Sayonara," Mori said and picked up Honey swiftly then exited the hospital.

It was only Tamaki, Shirochii, Haruhi and Kyoya left.

"Ne, Haruhi, why are you still here?"

"I'm here for Shirochii-san."

Tamaki turned to Kyoya. "And you, Kyoya?"

He seemed to stiffen. "I'm here to talk with the doctors efficiently and to get a discount on the hospital stay charge."

"Ah..." Tamaki replied and turned his vision to Shirochii's sleeping form.

A nurse came up to the group of four, Kyoya standing near the three sitting. "Ootori-san," she said.

"Nande?" Kyoya asked.

"Zaku-san is awake and is asking for a girl with brown hair and blue eyes," the nurse said, her gaze transferring to the sleeping girl behind the Ootori. "Her, I do believe." This conclusion was obvious, even when Shirochii's eyes were closed. Haruhi's eyes were brown, not blue.

"Please tell Zaku-san that she is sleeping. Arigato," Kyoya said coldly.

"H-hai." The nurse bowed slightly and went away to the room Tenshi was residing in.

"Kyoya-sempai, I think one of us should go see Tenshi-san, at least. He'll be lonely in that hospital room," Haruhi suggested.

"Then why don't you go, Haruhi!" Tamaki said with glee. "He'll be happy to know that Momo-chan is safe, since he didn't get to know who it was who threw him to the wall…" Tamaki trailed off, the memory of the incident was not a good feeling.

"He has a concussion. I doubt he'll remember the incident or how he got hurt; he doesn't even remember Shirochii-tomo's name," Kyoya calmly said.

"That may be true, but doesn't memory come back after a while? And why can't they get to know each other again?" Haruhi said.

"Sayonara, Haruhi-san," Kyoya said numbly. Haruhi stood up quickly and walked away down the hall, following the nurse's path.

"What is Shirochii-tomo to you, Tamaki?"

"She's a sister," Tamaki replied happily.

"And what is Haruhi to you?"

"My daughter!" Tamaki shouted proudly. "And I'm very proud of her, too!" A few passersby stopped doing what they were doing to look and stare at Tamaki making a fool of himself, declaring all those things in a hospital.

"T-Tamaki…" Shirochii whispered and sat upright.

"Ah! Momo-chan! You're awake?"

"Mhmm… Tenshi desu...?" she asked quietly, still trying to gain full consciousness.

"Ehh... He has a mild concussion and a few broken bones. He should be out of the hospital in a week or so."

"Oh… Can I see him?" she wondered, rubbing her eyes and standing up.

"Uh, hai. You can. Would you like to now?"

"Hai, onegai."

"Koi." Shirochii outstretched her arms to latch onto Tamaki's right arm. He smiled as she did this and guessed it was because she wasn't completely aware of everything and worried she would bump into something.

Tamaki led Shirochii down the main hall until they reached the emergency section, then to the right, then to the left. "Here. Tenshi's room is this one," Tamaki said and motioned to the room they were standing in front of.

"Go in now?"

"Hai." Shirochii let go of Tamaki and walked to the door to open it. She could hear Haruhi and Tenshi conversing, about what, she did not know.

The two in the room stopped talking and turned to look at her as she walked in; almost tripping in doing so. Tenshi immediately perked up.

"Konnichiwa, Miss!" Tenshi said happily. Despite his condition, he seemed pretty happy. There was a cast set on his left shoulder that reached to his elbow, the whole left arm in a sling around his right shoulder. There was also a bandage wrapped around his head, a mound of gauze set on his left temple, a dark red color visible through the wrap. "Namae wa? I seem to have forgotten it…" Tenshi continued sadly.

Shirochii only smiled a sad, poor smile. "Watashi namae wa Kuromashii Shirochii desu. Momoiro to yon-de kudasai," she answered, and then turned to Tamaki who was standing at the closed door. "What does he have?"

"A mild concussion, a broken humerus, and a fractured collarbone," he answered sadly. Shirochii turned to Tenshi's happy face, unknown to him of how he had gotten this way. If you looked at her face now, you would say she would cry soon.

But Shirochii held back the tears and tried her hardest not to cry anymore, as she figured she had cried enough for one night. "What time is it?" she asked mindlessly.

"Almost two," Haruhi said, looking at her watch.

"Momoiro-chan?" Tenshi asked, sitting up slowly and ignoring the ache in his shoulder area. "Daijobu desu ka? Is something the matter?"

"Sugoi! …nande mo nai desu ka.."

"Eh.. I beat those bandits, right? They didn't harm you?" Tenshi asked.

Shirochii nodded once and the sad smile came over her face again as she sat on Tenshi's bed. The two looked at one another for a bit. It was Tenshi who spoke first. "Can you two leave the room, please? I'd like to speak to Momoiro-chan alone for a bit."

Tamaki smiled slightly and left with Haruhi, who seemed worried. "What are they g—" The rest of Haruhi's sentence was cut off by Tamaki closing the door.

"Nani, Tenshi-kun?" It felt, to her, like she was backtracking because she used an honorific to his name.

She could see that Tenshi was struggling for words to say. His mind must be totally scrambled, she had thought sadly.

"Would you—"

"It's alright, Tenshi-kun. I'll explain everything to you, ii-desu-yo?" she said, cutting off, what she guessed, was Tenshi's request to explain how he'd gotten there.

He nodded slowly, not understanding the sudden burst of intrigue in him. And she began. "You didn't get into a fight with those… _men_. They ran off after you had explained who you were… Then you got angry at me for being where I was… and you walked me to the hotel I was staying at, the Agui Hotel."

"Ii-desu-yo. Continue."

"Hai. I had gotten in trouble with my.. _hosts_, because I was out for so long without them knowing. You kind of… saved me from their wrath by… taking me.._ out on a date_." Shirochii seemed to have trouble with those words, along with that event.

Tenshi smiled like only a gentleman would. "I can see myself doing that, hai. Go on."

"Hai. After the _date_, you proposed that you walk me to my hotel room. I didn't decline. But then you got into a fight with one of my _hosts_, Kyoya-sempai; the guy with glasses and black hair. I scolded you later on about that fight in the elevator, and solved it there, too. Then, in my room…" She couldn't really find it in herself to continue.

"Hai? What is it? What's wrong, Momoiro-chan?"

"Nande mo nai desu ka…" she said, and took in a deep, quivering breath before she continued. "In my room, we started a nice, civil chat about how brains is better than bronze, I can shorten. Then it led to what I was going to be when I was older… then you were tickling me over me calling you a jerk."

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I can see myself doing that, too. What happened afterwards?"

"Honey-sempai rammed through the doors and threw you from on top of me. And my guess is that the sounds I was making, and your words… and my own words.. kind of made it sound like you were taking advantage of me.."

Tenshi's face firmed and his smile faded. Shirochii's face fell, as well, into the eerie silence. "And that is how you are here, Tenshi."

"Eh.. Momoiro-chan… ie, what was it that I used to call you before?" he asked, and truly put in effort into not getting upset or angry.

Shirochii was surprised by his eagerness to cooperate with whatever she had said, and believed her. "Ah.. Momo-chan… You used to call me Momo-chan, and I would just call you Tenshi."

He smiled. "Ii-desu-yo, Momo-chan. May I please continue what I was going to say earlier, now?"

"Nani?"

"You cut me off… I was going to ask you something."

She had guessed wrong. He wasn't going to ask her to explain, he was going to ask something else. "Ehh… Hai, Tenshi, you can ask whatever you want to ask."

"Well, I've noticed that you seem to be prone to accidents, and trouble—by what you've told me and what I've noticed so far—and I was just thinking… if you would… eh.." He seemed to have trouble talking about this subject. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt.. and.. ah.. I think you need someone there to help you out of… eh.. certain situations… so.. ah.. would you… um.. Ki-ni shinai-de. _Never mind._"

"Oh, c'mon, Tenshi! Spit it out! I can handle whatever you're thinking of," she motivated.

Tenshi smiled like he was embarrassed. I just hope _I_ can, he thought quickly before he spoke aloud. "It's about you… and me.. and… eh… um.."

Shirochii caught on quite quickly after the words "you" and "me" were spoken. "You want me to be your girlfriend?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Eh, ie! Ie! You have it wrong, that's wasn't what I… Well, it kind of was, but not to the extent of what you're thinking of."

To the extent she was thinking of? Boyfriend and Girlfriend. Two people who love each other. Two people who are close enough to freely kiss in public. Two people, one male and one female, so close after time that they're able to freely have….

She stopped her thoughts there. She didn't want to continue.

"What are you talking about, Tenshi? 'Extent'?"

"Not _real_. I'd be your fake boyfriend and you would be my fake girlfriend. I find myself shrouded in girls when I go to clubs because I'm the Chief of Police's son. I'm supposed to be agile, and smart, and handsome.. and charming… so the girls come up to me and… try to… 'work it.'" Shirochii laughed lightly, and did her best to hide it. "And you seem to be in need of someone who can take good care of you. Someone who is at least somewhat stable enough to support someone else. And I'm just thinking, 'hey, we're both single, we both are in need of an other-half—however fake or real it may be—and hey! We just happened to find each other in the way that proved you need help.' Do I make a point? However failing it may be?"

Shirochii laughed again, but this time it was slightly sad and there was sympathy in her eyes as she looked at Tenshi. "I understand where you're coming from, Tenshi," she started, and blushed slightly. "But I do love another. And I'd feel like I'm betraying his trust when I do this. He does take care of me, Tenshi. It's just… always verbal. And he has Tamaki—that blonde I was with—to make sure I'm taken care of. I am not turning down your request, or 'rejecting' you at all, Tenshi. It's just that, what if my guy comes here when I least expect it and he finds you? Surely my hosts would know that we're together and they'd tell him."

"I understand that."

"And, actually, he's coming down here on February 1st until the… 20th, I think."

"Well, then, we have time! I can help you and you can help me, Momo-chan."

"But, Tenshi, I live in Tokyo City… not Sendai."

These words halted Tenshi's train of thought. "Oh.."

"Sorry, Tenshi."

"But my family's moving there soon!"

"When?"

"During spring break…"

"I don't want you to push your family into moving faster just so you can be with your fake girlfriend, Tenshi."

"It'll be fine. I can go early before my family. And a few of my friends, too!"

"Oh, Tenshi! Stop this, please. I've said no already, may not have been those two letters exactly, but I've said it." Somehow, their conversation had wondered into English, ever since Shirochii had apologized.

"And I _understand_ what you're talking about and where you're coming from, Momo. But don't you think it'll be better this way until your guy comes?"

Shirochii gave up. She needed to call Leo. "Fine. But let me call him and tell him first. Then you can move or whatever. Ja ne, _See you/See ya'_," she said and stood up then left the room, closing the door behind herself. Tamaki and Haruhi looked drowsy. They were both sitting in the emergency section's waiting room. She knew they both would fall asleep soon, and she did not want to disturb them.

Then the thought of Kyoya came to mind. She would use his cell phone, since she had memorized Leo's cell phone number. She made her way to the front of the hospital—where the waiting room was—hoping to see Kyoya there, but in her better judgment, knowing that he wasn't. As she turned the corner to the waiting room, there Kyoya was, almost exactly where he was when she had left—at least, what she remembered.

"Kyoya-shi? Erm.. sempai.." He looked up from the floor, he was sitting in the seat Tamaki was sitting in before.

"Nande, Shirochii-tomo? By the way, I mean friend."

She smiled, then remembered why she had come. "Eh… Could I borrow your cell phone? Only for a moment! I need to call Leo…" she explained.

Kyoya's face softened a bit, and he took out his cell phone. "Here," he said and handed it to her.

"Arigatou, Kyoya-sempai!" she said happily and walked off to a corner of the waiting area to talk to Leo.

She dialed his number with quick fingers, heard the ringing, and waited for him to pick up. "Hello?" a male voice asked in French from the other end and Shirochii smiled.

"Hello, Leo! It's Momoiro," she replied , also in French.

"Oh! Hello, Momoiro! How are you?"

"I've been better. You?"

"I'm good. What's the matter? And why did you call from this private number? Where are you?" She laughed to herself so Leo wouldn't hear. Only figures Kyoya-sempai would set his number as private, she thought.

"I'm on Kyoya-sempai's cell phone, that's why it's private."

"Oh… now tell me what's wrong. I can tell in your voice it's not good."

"What do you think about me having a boyfriend, Leo?" she asked cautiously. There was no answer for a while.

"I'd… be happy for you, Momo." His voice allowed Shirochii to tell that he was hurt.

"Well, I think I have a fake boyfriend. Just to watch over me, ya' know? And I'm of his use to ward off other girls that go after him, because he's the Chief of Police's son.. He had told me that we could use each other that way. But I told him no because I already have someone who helps me out and supports me, and he was going to come soon. He said that was alright and it could just be until he comes. And I said I'd talk to him."

More silence. "And you're stressing so you come to me?" Leo asked, his voice strained to keep leveled.

Shirochii laughed. "No, silly. You're the one I need to talk to."

By only Leo's breathing, she could tell he was greatly surprised and felt this was a great deal. "You think I take good care of you…?" he asked unconsciously.

She nodded, but stopped herself suddenly as she knew Leo was a world away and could not see her. "Yes, Leo, I do! You take wonderful care of me, considering that you're miles and miles away from me. You communicate with Tamaki so much, and make him care for me so much, too… Even though I know he'd do pretty much the same things, because he thinks of me as his artificial sister," she announced.

"Everyone thinks of you and Tamaki close, don't they?" Leo asked.

"Yes. There's even this nasty rumor going around school that we're a couple!" She sighed heavily. "Only dumb-shits like those petty-ass chicks could even think of something like that. I mean, look at us! The only contact we make is a hug, a friendly gesture, and a pat on the back!" Her opposite hand holding the cell phone flew up into the air to gesture her anger.

Leo laughed wholeheartedly. "You make the biggest fusses out of everything! Stop caring about what others think of you. Only when they actually _do_ something is when you take it up with other people."

"No violence, as usual, please, Leo."

"Yes, yes. As usual."

"So, back to the topic and reason of this phone call…."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Do I have your permission to have this fake boyfriend? It would greatly decline any chances of me getting hurt, you know. And it would stop those _men_ from taking their chances with me, however few they are."

"Yes, I approve. But on only one condition."

"Okay, what is it?"

"Nothing physical at all. The closest you two will be is lounging around on a sofa together. Understand, Momo?"

Shirochii shivered at the tone of voice he used with her. Like he was scolding her on a lower level. But she knew he was just watching out for her and doing his best to assure _her_ best. "Yes, I understand, Leo."

"Good, then. See ya in a few weeks, Momo!"

"Bye!" She only hung up after she heard the line go dead, a habit of hers to never be the one to hang up first. "Here, you go, Kyoya-sempai," she said as she handed the phone back to him.

"I trust everything is well enough?"

"Yes, everything is. I'll be staying here for a little longer, just to tell Tenshi something, then I want to leave. I bet Tamaki and Haruhi-san are already sleep on those chairs…."

"Yes. I will call a means of transport to take us back to the hotel." She nodded and headed back to the emergency waiting room to see Tamaki and Haruhi leaning on each other, asleep. She smiled then giggled like a child would.

"Cute," she said in English, then went to Tenshi's room.

"Ah! Hello, Momo! What did your mister say?" he asked in English.

"He said he was fine with it. But the closest physical thing we are allowed to do is lounging around somewhere together."

"Not even a peck on the cheek to make it more real?" Tenshi asked, not disappointed, but a bit worried and untrusting.

She thought a bit for this. "Eh.. I guess that'll be alright."

"When will you announce the news, Momo?"

"I don't know… Maybe tomorrow after we visit you? Surely you can at least go home after a few days or a week.. right?"

"Yeah, maybe. I heard the doctors talking about a week or so."

"That'll be fine then, eh? We'll surprise them!" She positively seemed giddy about this plan, now that she had approval from _him_. "When you are able enough for travel, you can come to Tokyo. When the others ask why you're there, that is when we latch our plan and we'll be safe as possible from the outside world. Nice, eh?"

Tenshi smiled nicely at her. "I like the plan very much. I think it'll work out wonderfully."

"Well…" she started and glanced at the clock, it read three. "I'd better get going now. And you'd better get some sleep, too! I want you to get better soon." She looked at the open window and saw it was snowing pretty hard.

"Okay," he said, a bit disappointed that she had to leave now.

"See you tomorrow. Bye, love," she said and quickly gave Tenshi a peck on the cheek before leaving.

"Bye…" he said, his voice wondering the emotionless room.

Shirochii walked to the emergency waiting room to see Tamaki and Haruhi. She slowly started to shake the two. "Wake up, you two. It's time to leave. I promise you can sleep on the way to the hotel and crash once you hit your own beds," she whispered to them.

Haruhi was the first to even move on her own. "Ge-ge?" she muttered and slowly rose on her own. "What time is it?"

"It's almost three A.M., Haruhi."

"Really?!" she said, louder, more awake and aware then before.

"Yes. Now wake Tamaki up and let's get going. And wrap up as tightly as you can, it's a blizzard outside," she told Haruhi, then left to get her stuff from the front waiting room.

Kyoya was standing in front of the cold glass doors. Shirochii stared at him as she put on her white fine jacket and buttoned the loose tooth-like fastens. She then slipped on her black leather gloves and slid on her black beret with the two leather strands to her left. She made sure it was secure and wouldn't go flying off in the cold winter snow.

Then she walked up beside Kyoya. "Konnichiwa, Kyoya-sempai. Daijobu desu ka?"

Kyoya drew a steady breath. "Ogenki desu."

"Hai," she drawled happily. She was trying to sound happy and energetic despite the place they were in and the hour of day.

"Are Tamaki and Haruhi awake?"

"Hai! I woke Haruhi up and told her to wake up Tamaki… Hope she does what I asked of her.."

Kyoya turned slightly towards the emergency ward as Tamaki and Haruhi came fumbling down the hall.

"Tamaki! Haruhi-san! You actually did manage to wake him up… and yourself, too."

"Let's get going now. The limo has been waiting outside for five minuets."

"Really? I was gone for longer than that period of time? Wow, that limo driver must have been either scared to death or really good at finding his way out of traffic."

As the four got into the limo, and the driver started driving, Shirochii noticed that the streets weren't too busy. So she corrected herself. "Or the streets are just not busy.." she mumbled under her breath.

It took only 4 minuets to reach Agui Hotel, considering the car to block ratio in Sendai was 1:5. "Sayonara, limo driver!" Shirochii shouted after him as he drove away. Kyoya rolled his eyes as he passed her. She rushed to the front of the group to take the lead and to help Haruhi and Tamaki to the doors and to their room. They were very tired, still, and the limo's swift driving did not give them enough time to rest from their excursion from the emergency ward to the limo.

"C'mon, guys! Not too far, now, eh?" she said happily and opened and held the doors open all the way. She even held the elevator doors open, pushed the buttons, and tucked Haruhi and Tamaki into bed after helping them out of their outside clothes.

As she lay down in bed after taking a nice bath, her thoughts led to Tenshi and Leo and Tamaki and Kyoya. The males in her life fighting their way to the first spot for importance to her, at least, to her mind. Their current order was Leo, Tenshi, Tamaki, then Kyoya—that's from most to least. And in her mind it was always better to be on the list then not. It always seemed to people that being the last on the "Top 10" or "Top 5" list was the worst ever. But isn't that better than not being on it at all?

It's the humiliation—of being last on the list—that would make them sad. If there were just, at least, one person to come after you, wouldn't that make you feel better? But in the end, there truly is no big deal, right? All that there is, is the here and now. Your thoughts of the future may motivate you to move forwards, to get closer to that goal you have in mind. But remember, just because you move forward with the goal in mind doesn't mean you're heading in that direction, exactly.

For all you know, you could be heading for Osaka when you want to go to Sapporo… Okay, you know those two places are very far of each other and are on opposite ends of the map, but does that change anything when you're actually down there _without_ a map? _Without_ any means of knowing which way you're going other than an image of where it is you want to be? No, it does not.

Another example is what if you want to be an actor/actress when you grow up? You do your best in school, and take the most creative and smart choice that would correspond with being an actor/actress because that's always in your mind. But because the only experience with that subject is from movies and research you've done on it, you're very inexperienced with the topic when it comes to first handed things. So you may think you're getting ready for acting, when you're actually getting ready for music or an other similar occupation in the entertainment business.

The thing is that you never know where you're going unless you know _how_ to get there, _what_ it is exactly you want to do, _why_ you want to get there, _when_ you want to get there, and _where_. It's survival of the smartest and fittest in the real world, in Shirochii's mind, and she intends to win it.

xxx

In the morning, Shirochii woke to pounding on her door. "W—what is it?!" she shouted and rolled over to her back then sat up. Her curtains were drawn from the previous night so light poured into the room, bouncing off the white walls.

"Momo-chan! Wake up! Time to go eat breakfast!" Tamaki called.

"Ugh!" she grunted and got up to open the door.

"Ohayo, Momo."

"Ohayo, Tamaki. Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep."

"After breakfast we're going to see Tenshi in the hospital. Would you like to come?"

"Ugh!" she shouted and slammed the door in Tamaki's cheery face. "I'll be down soon!"

"Ii-desu-yo, Momo!"

She felt like collapsing. And she did so, on her knees then fell back on her back. "Ugh… I want to sleep.." she drawled. She lifted her chin to look at the clock above the window to see it was eight in the morning. She cried with anger and flung her arms in the air to show she was upset. "I only had five hours of sleep!" she shouted. "Unbelievable!"

But I have to get up, she thought to herself as she rose slowly. She put on a black velvet and satin dress with "angelic" sleeves. The skirt of the dress spread apart in the front middle to show the white cotton dress she wore underneath, ending 4 inches above the knees. Its shoulders cut off in large puffs that were "princess" styled. The skirt of the dress was a plum color and had a floral design on it. The innards of the black dress were also plum. She wore black and white striped stockings that were mid-thigh high.

The shoes she chose were Victorian styled black shoes with buckles on the outer sides. They were black and shiny. She styled her hair so it was in two small pigtails on either side of her head, leaving the shorter part of her hair—which consisted of her bangs and some on the side—free, so she put a wooden orange painted fish barrette in her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror and smiled. "Good day, Shirochii Kuromashii," she whispered to herself as she left her room.

As she exited the elevator many eyes set upon her and she felt embarrassed and slightly shy. Shirochii made her way to the hotel's grand cafeteria and located the hosts. She walked in a hurried manner towards them, a smile on her face. Hikaru and Kaoru were the first ones to notice her and to wince at what she was wearing. Fashion was a tight point to them.

"Ohayo, mina!" she shouted when she was just a meter away from them. She quickly took the last seat between Tamaki and Honey.

"Ohayo, Momo-chan!" Tamaki said happily.

"Ohayo," everyone eventually greeted.

She smiled. "So, when are we going to visit the hospital? And then where are we going? Surely this trip was planned to be happy, right?" she said happily, trying to hide her fatigue.

"Right! We're headed for the hospital right after breakfast, then we're going to tour around in a private vehicle," Tamaki explained.

She stared at him, surprised. "_All day_?! You think a tour of Sendai will take _all day_?!"

"Well… erm.. uh.. yeah," Tamaki fuddled.

"Ugh! I don't want to sit in a car and look at the buildings and statues and any landmarks! I want to touch them! Feel them beneath my fingers so I can blab to anyone that I did so! Don't you rich people understand that… _greatness_ of having to walk to every landmark, and then have the chance to _touch it_?" Haruhi coughed. "Well, besides you, Haruhi-san. But have you done that? Traveled to every landmark in one city on your own—or with your parents—and then got to look at it up close or touch it?"

"Uh… yeah.."

"And how did it feel?"

"Good..?"

Shirochii sighed. "You're too normal to understand the feeling the rich would get if we did that. It's different for us, it truly is."

Haruhi muttered something inaudible, but sounded like, "Stupid, rich bastards."

"So how about it, Tamaki? Can I go?"

He looked at her incredulously. "You? Go alone around Sendai? Aren't you afraid you'll get hurt or something? Because you don't know your way around here and you don't know which areas are bad or not."

"Oh, don't worry, Tamaki! I'll talk to Tenshi about it, then you can deliver your final decision… And if you'd like, talk to Leo about it, too."

He debated this with himself. "I'll go with Momo-chan!" Honey said happily.

"Yeah! We can go for ice cream! And great bakeries around Sendai!" Shirochii agreed.

"Ice cream?! It's the middle of winter!" Hikaru shouted, thinking it was totally absurd.

But Shirochii just shook her head and said, "tut-tut," while waving her finger in the air. "Ice cream is for _any_ occasion, _any_ time of year, and _any_ season. It's just a lovely treat! And we can go buy warm, freshly baked goodies after, as well! Then, to really warm us up, we can go het hot chocolate or cocoa!" Shirochii talked in a fast, paced way.

Hikaru and Kaoru mumbled something inaudible to Shirochii. "Pardon? Please say that again, you two. This time, louder so everyone can hear."

Hikaru and Kaoru sighed. "We'd like to go too," they both said.

A large smile came upon Shirochii's face as she heard those words. "Really, you two? You really want to come with Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai and I? Why is that, when you know you'll be in the cold snow most of the time?"

"They want the ice cream and cake, right?!" Honey wondered.

She nodded. "I bet they do."

The twins blushed lightly and nodded. "H… hai."

"Alright, then! Business is business! We'll take you two along, as well! Now, let's plan! First I want to go get ice cream, then we can—"

"I'd like to go, too," Kyoya said in a monotone voice.

Shirochii looked up from her hands—which were moving together like the gears in her mind. "Hmm?"

"I said, I'd like to go, too," he repeated.

The twins looked as if they didn't want to go anymore, but they held their tongue. "Uh.. i.. ii-desu-yo, Kyoya-sempai," Shirochii said slowly. Then something hit her, as she turned to look at Tamaki. "Oi, that just leaves Tamaki and Haruhi to go on the _private tour_." She made sure the words private and tour were reaching Tamaki's ear, she did not want him to get all fussy later on when they were on it.

"I'll go with you guys!" Haruhi said, suddenly.

"Nope, sorry, Haruhi-chan. We won't take anymore people! _Full_!" she shouted, holding up one finger as if she were announcing the words.

"Demo…"

"Ie! Ie demo, Haruhi-chan," she suddenly said.

Then the food came.

She took the plate of bacon and eggs hurriedly, but once she saw it, she turned suspicious.

"What kind of eggs are these? And the bacon? Please tell me what's in the milk," she said at a steady, even pace.

The waitress turned curious, but told her anyway. "They're scrambled eggs, mi—"

"Made from what?"

"From… eh.. normal free ranch eggs.."

"And the bacon?"

"The pigs are imported from the U.S., then butchered here in Japan—"

"Where in Japan?"

"Tokyo."

"Then they're covered in salt and sent here? Or is something else done to them?"

"They're covered in salt… we rinse them thoroughly here."

"Now the milk. What percent is it and is anything added to the compound?"

"It's 1 percent milk, and ie. Nothing is added to the milk."

"Ha! Finally a place that can meet my standards!" she suddenly shouted, then coughed. "Arigatou for your time, Miss. You can go serve others now, sayo!" Shirochii said happily and started eating.

"What was that about, Momo-chan?" Kaoru asked.

She stopped eating and looked up. "Well, back when I was in Violin school, I did some studies on the food us… rich people eat, and our bad habits, and all of our things.. and found out that some of it is actually very bad, and ugly, and… disgusting. So I gave up on most of it! I mean… freshly ground coffee and newly imported tea leaves sure gets heck out of me, but other things disgust me very much," she explained, taking small breaks every now and then to eat properly.

"Ah, that explains your tone of voice," Hikaru said.

Everyone finished eating within an hour. When it was time to leave, Tamaki and Haruhi just grabbed their jackets—which were on the back of their chairs—and headed for the limo parked outside. While the others went back to their rooms to get warmer clothing.

Shirochii put on her black leather gloves, her black beret, and white jacket, then quickly exited the hotel for the limo.

"You look toasty, Shirochii-san," Haruhi said, looking at her clothing. "Except I don't understand why you're wearing a short dress like that… Won't you get cold?"

She smiled reassuringly. "Don't _worry_, Haruhi-san. I won't freeze," she said dully. "Demo arigato for worrying for me," she said and smiled dearly.

The others arrived in the car soon enough and they left for the hospital.

"Ohayo, Tenshi!" Shirochii shouted happily when she had entered his room. "Daijobu desu ka?"

"Ah, Momo-chan… Ohayo… ogenki desu… kimi wa?"

"Sugoi," she said clearly.

The silence that followed was very odd, being that the hosts—and Haruhi—stood only a foot or two behind Shirochii and the bond between her and Tenshi was yet to be known.

She turned around to face the hosts and Haruhi. "Eh… can you guys please excuse yourselves? I'd like to speak to Tenshi privately."

"Oh, yeah! Sure, Momo-chan!" Tamaki shouted then ushered the hosts out. "See you when we see you!" he shouted as he almost slammed the door. Shirochii sighed heavily when Tamaki started crying on about how he had lost his litter sister.

"Heh, Tamaki baka…" she whispered quietly to herself.

"So, Momo-chan what is it you'd like to talk about?"

"First of all, speak in English. The hosts aren't very skilled at this language."

"Oh, okay…"

"Secondly, I would like to talk to you about the areas in Sendai. A few of the hosts and I are going on an on-foot adventure through it, and I'd like to know the area a little more, as not to… duplicate the previous night…"

Tenshi's face turned curious. "Me? Why would you come to me in this state? I don't think I know that much.."

"Oh, please, Tenshi. I _know_ you haven't forgotten about your own _city_!"

He set a soft glare at her as she shouted at him. "How would you know?! You don't! You don't know how delicate I feel right now in this state! How am I supposed to be anything to you right now like this?!" he shouted at her, in an offensive and defensive manner. It made Shirochii think of her brother immediately and her eyes filled with rage, but as she looked at the hurt and sore Tenshi, they softened and she understood how he felt.

"Tenshi. You must calm down, now… I understand how you feel.."

"No! How could you?! You've never felt that need to be strong for a girl you're supposed to protect!"

"Listen, Tenshi..." she said and he stopped talking but still fumed. "I _do_ understand how you feel. You know how? I put myself in that situation. And because I have such a strong mind, I _can_ understand how you feel. I _do_ feel the feelings you go through, because I can sympathize and because I can relate with my mind. It's hard to explain that I _can_ understand, but you can mull over it for a while."

"Has anyone ever said you were beautiful? Or that you work or try too hard? Has anyone ever congratulated you in a great achievement in your _life_?" Tenshi suddenly asked.

She blushed. "What does this have to do with how I sympathize with you?"

"That's it. When you're with someone you're comfortable with—I'm guessing—you let yourself go. You gloat."

"Hey! I take offense to that!"

"Know what? You're a piece of unframed artwork, Momo."

"Eh… I don't understand what you mean, Tenshi."

"You can do all these things, you have talent, and you're smart. You're actually pretty, not a great beauty, but not necessarily normal or average… or _ugly_. But no one actually congratulates you when you do something good… no one takes you out for a party.. your family doesn't take you on normal family outings, and they don't really notice you, no matter how hard you try. Sure, you may hate your family to the extent you do, but you still wish they'd notice you, take _some_ pride in what you do… be a family, for once."

"Hey… how did you…? You remember last night? Before the accident?"

Tenshi nodded lightly. "Yes, I do. And I've built upon what you said after, and before the accident… as well as now and your reaction to what I've said. I stand by that you're a piece of unframed artwork; no one appreciates you enough and it's altered how you should've—would've—been. I'm sorry, Momo. I'll promise to take more notice in what you do from now on."

"B…but.. Leo and Tamaki notice and take pride in what I do.. in _me_!"

Tenshi shook his head a little. "You've only reconnected with Leo and Tamaki… you haven't spoken to them for more than 5 years, and those were important personality developing times for you, Momo."

"I… I can't believe you… I can't believe you! How dare you speak to me—_of _me—like that! I… I…."

"Don't be upset, Momo," he said, sitting up now, "just trust in my judgment and believe in me! I can help you, Momo. Me and those two that have already began helping you…"

"No. You're completely wrong. Your idea is ludicrous! Insane! I…"

"Momo… think about your past, what your family has done.. And about the people who've helped you up."

"I… don't know how to respond to that. Because what you're saying is wrong. I've always had someone to help me… My sister, Midori, have you forgotten?"

"She didn't give you enough attention, obviously. While she was trying to be your mother and your sister, she had her own life. And she didn't feel responsible for you unless you were out of the house with you because you were only her _younger sister_."

"I _understand_ that she had her own life, I _understand_ that she never felt too responsible for me. I'm not altered, not changed from how I _should be_. Because this _is_ how I should be. Understand now? Use that sympathy god gave you, maybe you can build on it like I have."

"Maybe that's it! You sympathize with people so much, you try to forcibly relate to people to prove that you're not different. You try to get inside people's heads to get a different perspective, to check if it'd be different from your own!"

"There's a fault in your new _hypothesis_. If I wanted to relate to people as much as you say I do, then wouldn't that altar the way I made their minds?"

"No, because you'd want to know the truth. You were just _that_ truth-seeking, just _that_ desperate to find out if you really _are_ normal or not."

"Shut up, Tenshi. Please. I've had enough of this nonsense. I'm going sight seeing now. Goodbye," Shirochii said coldly and exited the room, slamming it on the way out.

"What happened?!" Tamaki shouted, raising his head from his hands pathetically.

"Nande mo nai desu ka. Let's leave."

"Eh… h-hai!" Tamaki said after her, he could tell she was _not_ in a nice mood.

"What's up with her?" Hikaru whispered to Kaoru.

"I feel sorry for you guys, now. She's horrible when she's angry…" Tamaki told the others as he got into the limo and drove away with Haruhi.

"So… eh.. what now, Momo—"

"To get ice cream," she said coldly and stomped her way towards an ice cream parlor she had seen during her wandering the day before.

The hosts shivered—except Kyoya, he followed her steadily.


End file.
